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TO THE VOTERS 

OF THE 

€^i|an5 013 t)Emncr^atin ^^aijty, 

THE PARTY OF WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON, JACKSON AND THEIR 
ILLUSTRIOUS COMPEERS ; 

THE PARTY THAT HAS ALWAYS BATTLED FOR PRINCIPLES 
AND OFFICIAL INTEGRITY ; 

PARTY WHOSE NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH ALL THAT IS 
ENNOBLING IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY; 

THIS TOLUME IS DEDICATED, 

IN THE HOPE AND WITH THE SINCERE CONVICTION THAT IN NOVEMBER, 
1888, ITS ILLUSTRIOUS STANDARD-IJKARERS, 

GROVER CLEVELAND 

ANO 

ALLEN G. THURMAN 

WILL BE ELECTED TO THE HIGHEST OFFICES IN THE GIFT OF THE 

PEOPLE, THAT HONESTY AND INTEGRITY MAY NOT BE SUPPLANTED 

BY THE PARTY OF CORRUPTION IN HIGH PLACES. 



ONLY AUTHORIZED AND OFFICIAL EDlTlOxl 

AS A MANj THE NOBLEST AND PUREST OF HIS TIMES. 
AS A CITIZEN, THE GRANDEST OF HIS NATION. 

AS A STATESMAN, THE IDOL OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, 

THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

OUR GREAT REFORM PRESIDENT, 



GROVER CLEVELAND 



EMBRACING A FULL ACCOUNT OF HIS EARLY LIFE; HIS STRUGGLES WITH 

POVERTY AND EFFORTS TO OBTAIN AN EDUCATION; HIS AMBITION 

AS A STUDENT; HIS EARLY POLITICAL CAREER AND RAPID 

ADVANCEMENT; HIS ABLE AND PATRIOTIC RECORD AS 

GOVERNOR OF THE EMPIRE SrTATE Atv'D PRESIDENT OF 

OUR GREAT REPUBLIC; HIS \LANF-UL BATTLES WITH 

RINGS AND CORRUPTION IN HIGH PLACES. 

BY COL. HERMAN DIECK, 

THE WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR. 
TO WHICH IS ADDED 

THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Allen G. Thurman 

THE GRAND OLD DEMOCRATIC STATESMAN, 



The work also contains an acc'ourR erf the electibn a.icTat^ln'nlstrutlon uf evoy Presi» 
dent from Washington to the present time, and fine portraits of all of them, with a his- 
tory of the National Democratic Convenlicns from 1832, and a large amount of valuable 
statistical matter, giving the return: cOf the votes cast z.i ali our Pr?jid'5ntI?J elections. 



Embellished with a Fine Steel Portrait of Cleveland and 
iNumerous Illustrations on Wood. 

PHILADELPHIA, PA.: 

S. I. BELL & CO., 

26 N. E. City Hall Square. 






'CI 
Copyrighted, 1888. 



• • •» • •< 



PREFACE. 



The Democratic National Convention, to nominate can- 
didates for the office of President and Vice-President of 
the United States, met at St. Louis on the 5th day of June, 
1888. The party was represented by its ablest men, who 
either as delegates or as members of political clubs, or as 
advisers, participated in its deliberations. The Convention 
nominated for the high office of President of the United 
States, 

HON. STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 

who by his ability, integrity, courage and efficient ad- 
ministration at Washington has gained many encomiums 
from political friends as well as adversaries. No person 
can point to an act of his that can be construed as a bid 
for the nomination or as an effort to secure it. The Demo- 
cratic party has great cause to be proud of the moral sense 
and political sagacity of its leaders, who, on account of 
President Cleveland's admirable record and character, 
have nominated him for the Presidency, the highest office 
in the gift of the people. 

There was in the great Democratic Convention no real 
hostility to President Cleveland. The hearty satisfaction 
with which the nomination of Grover Cleveland has been 
received is a guarantee of his election in November. It 
arises from the general conviction that the chief issue of 
the election is honest and efficient administration, with 
sole regard to the public welfare. Indeed, he owes his 
nomination to his spotless character, his career as an 

(iH) 



IV PREFACE. 

executive ofiicer, and to the universal respect and con- 
fidence which liis conduct has inspired. He was elected 
Mayor of Buffalo wlien the intelligent sentiniCTrtTof the 
city demanded a reform policy, and a man able and 
courageous enough to enforce it. He was the candidate 
of citizens who were resolved that the city government 
should be conducted for the general welfare, and not for 
tlie benefit of rings and traders. He discharged his duties 
without regard to private interests or his own political or 
})ersonal profit. He held his office as a public trust, 
baffling jobbery of all kinds, vetoing doubtful schemes or 
questional)le laws upon clear constitutional and indisput- 
able grounds, and by his direct, honorable and energetic 
course winning the cordial regard of his fellow-citizens. 
It was natural that in the decline of great party issues, and 
in tlie alarming and dangerous progress of corrupt political 
metiiods, the voters of New York, hearing of the adminis- 
trator of the government of one of the chief cities of the 
State as a man possessing tlie very qualities which prom- 
ised the overthrow of ])olitical corruption, sliould have 
willingly supported him for Governor of the State. His 
vast and unprecedented majority attested his popularity 
in his own State. 

Frank and plain in manner, scorning political charla- 
tanry and the arts of a demagogue, his appointments to 
office, his thorough study of laws submitted to him, his 
vetoes based upon constitutional grounds and wholly 
unmindful of personal views and wishes, his liearty co- 
operation with every measure to promote reform in the 
civil service, and his wise and energetic part in the 
purification of the unclean and corrupt municipal gov- 
ernment of the city of New York, naturally attracted the 
attention of the country to a public ofiicer in a most 
dignified and responsible position, whose career showed 
the qualities wliich the political situation especially re* 
quired. 



PREFACE. V 

It was but natural, therefore, that Mr. Cleveland should 
be chosen as the Democratic standard bearer in 1884. He 
was approved by the people on account of those qualities 
which are needed in the administration of public affairs. 
The endorsement of the people was a testimony to a clean 
record and a noble purpose. 

With Grover Cleveland as its candidate the Democratic 
party appeals with unmistakable directness to the moral 
sense of the people of the United States. Shall the next 
President be a man who has weakly yielded to temptation, 
or a man who has unswervingly adhered to the right 
against great temptations to do wrong? A man who begs 
pecuniary rewards of those his official action has enriched, 
or one who defies corrupt dictation and seeks only by a 
just course to deserve the approval of all honorable and 
right-thinking men? The honest convictions and patriot- 
ism of ten millions of voters are appealed to, and they 
will settle this question conclusively and for the right. 

It is not only in what he clearly represents, but in what 
he opposes, that Grover Cleveland is strong before the 
American people. His career has made him the exponent 
of clean and honest politics. ' He luis been severely tried 
in the important and responsible position of Governor of 
the great Empire State and President of the United States. 
He has resisted the importunities of designing politicians, 
and defeated the plans of selfish schemers. All members 
of his own party who are not striving for private gains, 
which are in conflict with the public good, are outspoken 
in his praise ; and he has won the good opinion of all men 
who are not so biased by partisanship as to have lost the 
power to commend upright conduct in a political adver- 
sary. 

Could a candidate find stronger recommendation than 
this in the opinion of voters whose political actions are 
shaped solely by considerations of the public good ? The 
official acts which have won for President Cleveland th© 



Vi PREFACE. 

intense hostility of all jobbers and disreputable men, are 
the very acts which have most strongly commended him 
to the support of honest voters. 

Mr. Cleveland's associate on the Democratic Presidential 
ticket is a man of great personal popularity. His good 
name has been honestly earned, and he will prove to be a 
strong candidate. He is genial, always true to his friends, 
and possesses those qualities which give men a strong hold 
on the people. 

This ticket is one of the strongest ever presented by the 
Democratic party and will be elected by a large majority. 

It is but natural that their countrymen should desire to 
know the means by which these great men have risen, by 
their own ability and integrity, to the proudest positions 
in the Republic, that of being the candidates of the grand 
old Democratic party for the office of President and Vice- 
President of the United States. To meet this demand the 
author has prepared this volume. 

The records of Grover Cleveland and his associate on 
the ticket, nominated with great enthusiasm at St. Louis, 
are presented in this book clearly and without partiality, 
that all men may see that their claims to the love and 
confidence of the American people are justified by their 
meritorious and faithful service, their ability and integrity, 
and fearless performance of their arduous and trying duties 
in all positions to which they have been elected by the 
people. 



THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

GROVER CLEVELAND, 

NOMINATED BY THE NATIONAL DEirOCRATIC CONVENTION FOR THE 
OFEICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 

His Birth and Parentage— His Father a Presby- 
terian Minister— The House where He was Born— 
His Relatives— He finds Employment in a Country 
Store— Highly Recommended by his Employer— He 
Attends the Academy at Clinton, Oneida County, 
N. Y.— Teaches in an Asylum for the Blind— He 
goes to Buffalo. N. Y.— Clerk and Law Student— 
A Self-Made Man— Admitted to the Bar— Assist- 
ant District-Attorney for Erie County — Nomi- 
nated FOR District-Attorney. 

The Hon. Grover Cleveland, presented to the 
voters of the different States of the Union by the 
National Democratic Convention, which met at 
St. Louis on the 5th day of June, 1888, as its candi- 
date for the high office of President of the United 
States, was born at Caldwell, Essex County, New 
Jersey, now a town of 3,000 inhabitants, about 
nine miles from Newark, on the 18tli day of 
March, 1837. He is a descendant of a New Eng- 

B (17; 



18 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

land fiimily, that traces its lineage through more 
than two hundred years in this country. His 
family hag been noted for religious knowledge, 
having had several distinguished representatives 
in the clerical profession. 

THE HOUSE WHERE GROVER CLEVELAND WAS BORN. 

The first house that is seen in the little villa<re 
of Caldwell approaching from Montclair is situated 
on the left-hand side of the road. For years the 
old-fashioned liouse, with its quaint gable-ends and 
ivy-covered porch, has only attracted the attention 
of the villagers as the parsonage of the First Pres- 
byterian church, but lately it has become of more 
interest. It is the birthplace of the Democratic 
candidate for President, Stephen Grover Cleveland. 
The Rev. C. T. Berry, the pastor of the church, 
lives in the old parsonage, and thither the writer 
went for information. The house sets back from the 
road about a hundred feet, and two noble ash trees 
stand like sentinels before it. The grounds, which 
contain about two acres, are well kept, and the 
whole place has an air of neatness and respec 
tability. The house itself is a two-story and- 
a-half, with a front porch and low windows. The 
front door opens into a spacious hall and the rooms 
on each side of it are cosy and comfortable. The 
ceilings are low. The doors are very wide and the 
whole place savors of antiquity. 

" I have had a great many interested callers," 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 19 

said Mr. Berrj. " This is the house in which Pres- 
ident Cleveland was born. It was first occupied 
by Stephen Grover, a former pastor of the church. 
In 1834 Mr. Grover resigned the pastorate, and 
Richard F. Cleveland was called on May 13th of 
the same year. Mr. Cleveland had many children, 
one of whom, William M., became a minister and 
went to Long Island. In the old church baptismal 
record we find the record of the birth and baptizing 
of the Democratic nominee;" and Mr. Berry pointed 
to an entry which reads as follows; "Stephen 
Grover Cleveland, baptized July 1, 1837; born 
March 18th, 1837." 

" During his six years' pastorate," said Mr. 
Berry, " Mr. Cleveland's father had a child bap- 
tized every year. When Grover Cleveland was 
elected Governor of New York I wrote and told 
him that I iiad these interesting facts, and he sent 
me a very graceful reply. Here is the room in 
which Governor Cleveland was born," and Mr. 
Berry pushed open a door and led the reporter into 
a room now used as a library. The room was 
about fifteen feet square, with two windows and a 
low ceil i no:. 

Marcus Harrison, an old resident of Caldwell, 
said that he remembered when Parson Cleveland 
lived down in the old parsonage. " It would be 
impossible," he added, " to keep account of his 
children. Young Grover, as we called him, was 
then just toddling around in frocks. He was named 



20 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

after Stephen Grover, the predecessor of his father 
in the pastorate of the church." 

As intimated by Dr. Berry's remarks, there is 
quite a rivalry between the residents of the two 
ends of the village over the birthplace of the 
President. An old house 4.hat stands on the other 
side of the town is pointed out by some of those 
residing near it as his birthplace, but there is no 
doubt that the parsonage the Rev. Mr. Berry 
occupies is entitled to the honor. 

THE CLEVELAND HOMESTEAD. 

At Holland Patent, N. Y, 
On the first corner as one passes through the vil- 
lasce of Holland Patent, on the road from Utica 
to Trenton Falls, stands an old brown house. The 
structure shows at a glance that it was built years 
ago, when carpenters put beams in \vooden houses 
and when balloon frames were unknown. The 
upright part is two stories, and its proportions 
, offer commodious accommodations for a large family. 
A generous wing aifords a sitting-room and other 
apartments. It was to this liouse that, over thirty 
years ago, the Rev. R. F. Cleveland brought his 
family. He came to occupy the pulpit of the 
Presbyterian church at Holland Patent as the 
regular pastor. A man of more than ordinary 
ability, possessed of a fine voice, a bright mind, 
and a clear head, he found favor with his parish- 
ioners. He was a Presbyterian in all that the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 21 

term implies, and believed the teachings of that 
church. He was withal a man of broad and liberal 
culture and liberal in ideas as well. As he w^ent 
in and out among his people they came to admire 
his personal and social qualities in a degree second 
only to their admiration for his talents as displayed 
in the desk. His home-life was a model of con- 
sistency and uprightness, and he brought up his 
children in the way they should go. Well educated 
himself, he secured for them the same advantages. 
By precept and example he sought to make of them 
such men and women as in after life would be a 
credit to the name he had given them. One has to 
talk but a moment to any of the older residents of 
Holland Patent to learn the esteem in which they 
hold the memory of the Rev. Mr. Cleveland. Un- 
fortunately for the church which prospered under 
his guidance, and for the members who reverenced 
and loved him, in less than six months from the 
commencement of his labors in that village the 
pastor ended his work on earth, and a village of 
mourners followed his mortal remains to the cem- 
etery and laid them to rest. 

Mrs. Anna Cleveland was left with a family of 
nine children to watch over and prepare for the 
duties of active life. The children were of no 
ordinary cast. As a white-haired man who had 
lived a neighbor to them for thirty years said yes- 
terday, " Such a woman could not have bad chil- 
dren." Mrs. Cleveland was in all respects a su- 



22 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

perior woman. In appearance she was dignified 
and with a kindly face, and at any gathering she 
would be noticed. Her children loved and re- 
spected her, and to the day of her death bestowed 
upon her the tokens of their affection. Home to 
them was always the most attractive place on earth, 
a very haven of rest. And so she lived until 
April 19th, 1882, when, at the age of seventy-eight 
years, her life-work was ended, and she, too, was 
hiid to rest in the village burial-plot. 

The children of the family in the order of their 
ages are : Mrs. Hastings, who married a missionary 
to the Island of Ceylon. The Rev. William 
Cleveland, who is now preaching with great ac- 
ceptance in the village of Forestport, in this county. 
The Hon. Grover Cleveland, who is for the sec- 
ond time a candidate for the Presidency of the 
United States. Richard Cecil Cleveland, who was 
lost at the burning of the ship Missouri, off the 
Island of Abaco, Oct. 22d, 1872. xMrs. Hoyt, 
whose husband was formerly of Theresa, but is now 
a business man in Favetteville. Mrs. Louisa Bacon, 
a most amiable and attractive lady, whose husband 
is an architect in Toledo, Ohio. Lewis Frederick 
Cleveland, who had marked ability as a business 
man. He was, moreover, a jovial and wonderfully 
agreeable gentleman, who made friends wherever 
he went. He leased a large boarding house at 
Nassau and made it very popular. Frederick was 
drowned with his brother at the burning of the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 23 

Missouri. Mrs. Susan Youmans lives at Walruth, 
Wayne county. Her husband has represented his 
district in the State Legislature. He is also a 
heavy owner in Holstein stock. Miss Elizabeth 
Cleveland is well known in Washington society, 
where her winning manners render her popular. 
Miss Cleveland is a talented lady and has great 
ability as a writer. 

AT HIS OLD HOME. 

Mr. Cleveland has not been much in Holland 
Patent, as from the time his parents moved there 
to the present he has been elsewhere occupied. 
But never did h^. allow a long time to elapse 
without paying a visit to his mother, for whom he 
had the tenderest affection. When home he was 
always doing something to render the house or 
grounds more attractive. He held it sufficient re- 
ward if the result of his efforts warranted and re- 
ceived his mother's commendation. At least twice 
each year he took the time to visit the old home- 
stead. When in Holland Patent he often took his 
gun and with a neighbor, who is an expert with 
gun and rod, would pass a day in the forest and 
fields. A gentleman who often hunted with the 
President said recently : " He was a good shot, just 
as he was good at whatever he undertook," An- 
other characteristic which is very noticeable is that 
Grover Cleveland is a very plain man, and not 
given to any false pride on account of his station. 



24 STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 

As Mayor of Bufli^ilo or Governor of the State he 
was the same among his friends at Holland Patent 
as, when a law student making his way in the 
world, he came here for a brief vacation. He is 
essentially a man of the people, and looks on all 
men as equal. The people of that village know 
him as a man and for him they all have a kindly 
word. The news of his nomination was joyfully 
received, and mtxny an old-time Kepublican will 
vote for Grover Cleveland. 

The graves of the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland 
are side by side in a well-kept lot of the Holland 
Patent Cemetery. The children have erected a 
beautiful monument to mark the spot. The stone 
bears this inscription : 

Rev. R. F. CLEVELAND. 

Pastor at 

Holland Patent, 

Died Oct. 1, 1853, 

Aged 49 years. 



ANNA NEAL, 

Wife of 

R. F. Cleveland, 

Died July 10, 1882, 

Aged 78 years. 

Her children rise up 

And call her blessed. 



The same stone also bears an inscription to the 
memory of the brothers, Richard C. and Lewis F., 
aged thirty-seven and thirty-one years respectively, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 25 

who were drowned at sea when the steamship 
Missouri was burned off the island of Abaco, Oct. 
22d, 1872. Below are the words : 

" Lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their 
death they were not divided." 

Said a man who knew both the brothers : ^^ Their 
action at the burning of the ship was characteristic 
of the w^hole family. When the ship caught fire 
there was a panic among the passengers. The 
officers of the vessel ^ were incompetent and as 
frightened as the rest. Amid the confusion Cecil 
found his brother Fred, and together they stood by 
when the boats were lowered and helped the terror- 
stricken passengers into them, doing the work the 
recreant Captain should have done. When the 
boats were filled there was no room for them, and 
together they went down." 

MR. Cleveland's parentage. 

Mr. Cleveland's great-grandfather, Aaron Cleve- 
land, was a Congregational preacher of Norwich, 
Connecticut. He was a strong man, both mentally 
and physically, and a hundred years ago he was 
the author of many radical anti-slavery papers 
which attracted much attention. A great-uncle 
of the Governor, known as " Father Cleveland," 
was for many years a city missionary in and about 
Boston. Grover Cleveland's grandfather, William 
Cleveland, was a mercliant of his native town of 
Norwich, Conn., where he brought up a large 



26 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELA.ND. 

family, one of his children being Eichard Cleve- 
land, father of the present Democratic nommee for 
the Presidency. Richard was born at Norwich and 
was educated for the ministry, embracing the Pres- 
byterian faith. Another of Aaron's sons, WilHam, 
a silversmith, was deacon of the Congregational 
Church at Norwichtown for twenty-five years pre- 
vious to his death in 1837. The youngest of Aaron 
Cleveland's thirteen children was the wife of Dr. 
Samuel H. Coxe, whose son, Arthur Cleveland 
Coxe, became Episcopal Bishop of Western New 
York. Grover Cleveland's father was Richard 
Falling Cleveland, the second son of Wm. Cleve- 
land, the son of the silversmith. After graduating 
at Yale in 1824, the President's fxther taught school 
in Baltimore, studied theology at Princeton, and 
became a Presbyterian clergyman at Windham, 
near Norwich, in 1828. lie married adauixhterof 
Abner Neal, of Baltimore, in 1829, preached a short 
time in Portsmouth, Va., and then settled in Cald- 
well, Essex county, N. J., where Grover Cleveland 
was born in 1837. The baptismal name was Ste- 
phen Grover Cleveland, but at an early age the 
Stephen was dropped, and afterward the Governor 
has been known as Grover Cleveland. 

The President's parents had nine children. Anna, 
the eldest, was the wife of Dr. Hastings, missionary 
to Ceylon ; William N. is a Presbyterian minister 
at Forestport, N. Y. ; Mary became Mrs. W. E. 
Hoyt; Cecil and Frederick were proprietors of a 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 27 

popular winter resort at Nassau, and lost their 
lives at the burning of the steamship Missouri off 
the Bahamas in 1872; Margaret became Mrs. N. 
B. Bawn ; Susan is the wife of L. Youmans, and 
another sister, Rose, is unmarried. 

President Cleveland has only the most shadowy 
recollection of his native town, for, when he was 
but three years of age, his father with a large fam- 
ily and a small income moved by way of the Hud- 
son River and Erie Canal to Favetteville, Oneida 
county, N. Y. in search of an increased income 
and a more extended field of labor. 

Fayetteville was then the most straggling of 
country villages — about five miles from Pompey 
Hill where Governor Seymour was born. Here 
the boy Grover Cleveland first went to school in 
the good old-fashioned way, and presumably distin- 
guished himself after the manner of all village boys 
in doing all the things that he ought not to do. 

At the age of fourteen, Grover, having gone 
through the course of study at the village school, 
was very anxious to secure the advantages of an 
academic training; but his father could not see 
things in the same light. Pie was hardly able to 
support his family, and wanted his boy to become 
self-supporting as soon as possible. 

CLEVELAND GENEALOGY. 

The nomination of Grover Cleveland as the 
Democratic candidate for President has led us to 



28 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

mn-ke some investigation of his genealogy, with the 
following results : 

Moses Cleveland came to this country an ap- 
prentice to a ''joyner" in 1635, and established 
himself in Woburn in 1G48. He married Ann, 
daughter of Edward Winn, Sept. 26, 1648. 

lie had a son Aaron (second generation), who 
was born Jan. 10, 1654-5. This son married Dor- 
cas Wilson, Sept. 26, 1675. She died Nov. 29, 
1714. He died Sept. 14, 1716. 

He in turn had a son, Aaron (third generation), 
who was born July 9, 1680. He was a carpenter, 
and lived in Woburn, Cambridge, and Charlestown. 
In 1738 he removed to Iladdam, Conn. He mar- 
ried A bi Grail . 

He had a son, the Rev. Aaron (fourth genera- 
tion), who was born Oct. 29, 1715, graduated at 
Harvard 1735, settled at Haddam, Conn., in July, 
1739, and married, Aug. 4, 1739, Susanna, daugh- 
ter of the Eev. Aaron Porter, born March 1, 1716. 
He died Aug. 11, 1757. His widow died at Salem, 
1788. 

He had a son, the Rev. Aaron (fifth genera- 
tion), wdio was born at Haddam, Conn., Feb. 3, 
1744, and died at New Haven Sept. 21, 1815. He 
was married, April 12, 1768, to Abiali Hyde, only 
daughter of James and Sarah (Marshall) H\de, of 
Norwich, Conn. His wife died Aug. 23, 1788. 

He had a son, Charles (sixth generation), who 
was born at Norwich, June 11, 1772. He mar- 
ried, Dec. 17, 1797, Mehitable Treadwell, of Salem, 
a sister of the late Dr. John D. Treadwell. Charles 
was for several years a commission merchant 
in Salem, and afterward the well-known city mis- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 29 

sionar}' of Boston. He died June 5, 1872, within 
16 days of 100 years of age. 

His brother William (sixth generation) was 
born at Norwich, Dec. 20, 1770; married, Dec. 19, 
1793, Margaret Falley. They lived at Worthing- 
ton and Salem, Mass., and at Norwich, Conn. He 
died Aug. 18, 1837. She died Aug. 13, 1850. 

His son, Richard Falley (seventh generation) 
was born June 19, 1805, at Norwich, Conn. He 
married Anne Neale, of Baltimore, Md. They re- 
moved to Holland Patent, N. Y., where he died 
Oct. 1, 1853. 

His son Grover (the candidate) was born March 
18, 1837. ^ . 

This family of Clevelands spell the name with- 
out the a in the first syllable. The descendants 
of the Rev. John, of Essex, generally insert the a 
in the first syllable. He was a grandson of Samuel, 
of Chelmsford and Canterbury, Conn., who was the 
third son of Moses, the immigrant ancestor first 
above mentioned. 

CLERK IN A COUNTRY STORE. 

Grover accordingly entered a country store, 
where he faithfully discharged the various and 
arduous duties incident to his position to the sat- 
isfaction of his employer. Fifty dollars were to 
be paid to the boy the first year, and if he proved 
trustworthy, he was to receive one hundred dollars 
the second year. 

Dr. D. P. Hutchins, an old resident of Fayette- 
ville, who had an office in Deacon McViccar's store 
when Grover was a clerk there, when asked for 



so STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

some reminiscences of the President's boyhood, 
said that " Grove," as they used to call him, was 
always considered a good boy, courteous and dig- 
nified in his manners and was exceedingly popular. 
He held his position in the store about one year. 
He made an efficient clerk and was highly recom- 
mended by Mr. McViccar when he left the hitter's 
employ. 

H. Howard Edwards, also a long resident and a 
playmate of the President, when questioned con- 
cerning his recollections of Cleveland's boyhood, 
said there was nothing during the time he lived 
here to indicate his future distinction. ^' Why," 
said Mr. Edwards, " we used to be toi^ether con- 
stantly, go a-fishing together, sleep together, play 
and eat together, and I cannot recall anything that 
impressed me with his future greatness. He was 
very slim when he was a boy, short and had small 
features. He was full of fun, and, I tell you, we 
had lots of fun together." 

Captain H. S. Pratt, another old resident, was 
found in bed, but ready to talk about Grover Cleve- 
land. ^' ' Grove' was one of the finest boys I ever 
knew. Everybody respected him, even the ^ old 
folks,' and you never heard of a practical joke on 
hlni. He was chuck-full of fun and I recollect he 
had a great weakness for ringing the school bell 
when he got a chance. He and his brother ^ Will' 
used to have a long rope attached to the hammer 
of the bell, and the way they used to make that 
bell ring after dark was a caution." 



\ 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 31 

There Is a warm feeling towards the Cleveland 
family here on the part of all who remember 
them. 

When Grover's father removed to a larger and 
more important charge at Clinton, Oneida county, 
the opportunity to attend an academy presented 
itself to Grover Cleveland. This was duly im- 
proved, and here the foundation of his future suc- 
cess was laid. He pursued his studies until the 
flimily moved up on the Black river to what was 
then known as the Holland Patent — a village of five 
or six hundred people — fifteen miles north of Utica. 
The elder Cleveland preached but three Sundays in 
this place, when he suddenly died. Grover first 
heard of his father s death while walking with his 
sister in the streets of Utica. This event produced 
the usual break-up of the family, and we next 
hear of Grover Cleveland setting out for New 
York city to accept at a small salary the position 
of underteacher in an asylum for the blind, where 
at the time the since well-known Gus. Schell was 
executive officer. 

He continued in this work two years to the 
great satisfaction of his employers, several of whom 
are still alive and bear testimony to his zeal and 
the faithful and efficient performance of his duties. 

But to teach he did not believe was his mission, 
and consequently at the expiration of two years he 
abandoned it and literally started out to seek his 
fortune — only reversing the usual order, and in- 



32 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

fitead of coining to the great city he left it. His 
fiijst idea was to go to Cleveland. As he has since 
said, the name seemed a good omen. Bat his 
uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted stock-breeder, lived 
at Buffalo, and he went straight to him for advice 
and guidance. 

The uucle did not speak enthusiastically. " What 
is it you want to do, my boy?" he asked 

" Well, sir, I want to study law." 

"Good gracious!" remarked the old gentleman. 
" Do you indeed ? Whatever put that into your 
head? How much money have you got?" 

To tell the truth he hadn't any. 

" See here," said the uncle, after a long consul- 
tation. " I want somebody to get up my herd- 
book this year. You come and stay with me and 
help me and I'll give you §50 for the year's work 
and you can look round." 

STUDYING LAW AND EDITING A STOCK-BOOK. 

Here it is that we find the American boy now 
annotating short-horns out at Black Rock, quite two 
miles from Buffalo. But he kept his eye open for 
a chance to enter a law office while he was editing 
the stock-book, and one day he walked boldly into 
the rooms of Messrs. Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, and 
told them what he wanted. There were a number 
of young men in the place already. But young 
Cleveland's persistency won, and he was finally 
permitted to come as an office hoy and have the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 33 

use of the law library. For this he received 
the nominal sum of $3 or $4 a week, out of which 
he had to pay his board and washing. The walk 
to and from his uncle's was a long and at that time 
a rugged one. The first winter was a memorably 
severe one, and his shoes were broken, and he had 
no overcoat. But he never intermitted a day. It 
began to be noticed that he was the most punctual 
and regular of the lads in the office. Often at 
night he was compelled to stand by the warm 
chimney in the loft where he slept and dry his feet 
after tramping the two miles through the snow. 
His senior employer had taken a copy of Black- 
stone on the first day of the boy's office experience, 
and, planting it before him with a bang that made 
the dust fly, said : — " That's where they all begin." 
There was a titter ran round the little circle of 
clerks, for it was a foreboding thing to begin with 
to the average lad. It appears, however, that he 
stuck to the Blackstone so well that he mastered 
it, and so absorbed was he in it one night that they 
locked him in and all went off. He spent that 
night with the book and never forgot it. 

This uneventful period of Grover Cleveland's 
life, so devoid of adventure and barren of romance, 
was the period at which all the forces of his later 
life were gestating. The privations and miseries 
of a penniless novitiate gave way slowly before his 
determined assiduity and pluck. He tells in his 

own way with a beaming, reminiscent humor of the 
c 



34 STEPHEN GROTER CLEVELANa 

first honor that came to him when his uncle, in 
getting out the second volume of his " Bret.^d Book," 
announced to him that lie intended to acknowledge 
in it his valuable assistance. But these privf*tions 
and miseries, it may readily be seen by the tem- 
perament of the man, were only so many stimuli. 
His wiia not the hypersensitive nature that winced 
and wore under physical discomforts. 

PAYING AN OLD DEBT. 

It must have been about this time, or just as he 
was to set out from home on his journey West, 
that he borrowed from the Hon. Ingham Townsend, 
of Floyd, Oneida county, a certain sum of money, 
to which the following letter, written many years 
afterward (it was on Jan. 23, 1867), refers : 

I am now in condition to pay my note, wliicli 
you hold given for money borrowed some years ago. 
I suppose I might have paid it long before, but I 
have never thought you were in need of it and I 
liad other purposes for my money. I have forgotten 
the date of the note. If vou will send me it I will 
mail you the principal and interest. The loan 30U 
made me was my start in life, and I shall always 
preserve the note as an interesting reminder of your 
kindness. Let me hear from you soon. With many 
kind wishes to Mrs. Townsend and 3our family, I 
am yours, very respectfully, 

G ROVER ClEVELANP. 

Mr. Townsend died in the town of Floyd in 
March, 1883, so that he had lived long enough to 



STErriEN GROVKR CLEVELAND. 3 -J 

see the recipient of his bounty elected Governor 
of the State of New York. His age was then 81, 
and lie had in his time assisted many young men 
with money to make their first start in the world. 
When he gave the money to young Cleveland he 
told him he need never return it, but that, should 
he ever meet a young man in need as he himself 
hail been, he might turn the money over to him 
should he liave it to spare. Grover Cleveland had 
not been Ions: in this law office at Buffalo when the 
firm engaged him at a fixed, liberal salary, and 
found that he was entirely capable of earning it. 

"See here," said his uncle to him one bitter 
December night when the lad had walked out to 
Black Rock through the sleet and snow: "this is 
pretty cold weather for you to be travelling without 
an overcoat." 

" Oh," says the young man, " I'm going to buy 
one wdien I earn the money." 

" Wh}^, look at your feet ; they must be sop^ 
ping, eh ! " 

" Oh, that's nothing. I'm getting some copy- 
ing to do now and I'll have a pair of boots by- 
and-by." 

In those days boys had to demonstriite what was 
in them before they received many favors. 

"You just go right over there to the tailor's and 
get the stoutest overcoat he's got. D'ye hear." 

Very likely Grover had begun to demonstrate 
what was in him, but whether to the mind of the 



36 STEPHExV GROVER CLEVELAND. 

uncle it was a capacity for compiling herd books or 
the capacity to contain Blackstone cannot now be 
learned. 

Four years in the office of Rogers, Bo wen k 
Rogers as a student equipped him with sufficient 
elementary knowledge and experience to become 
manasfini? clerk at the end of that time. And eo 
four years more pass. It is interesting to know 
exactly what kind of character he had now made 
for himself and how he was regarded by his associ- 
ates. It is not difficult to ascertain this with reason- 
able accuracy, seeing that most of those associates 
are alive and accessible and speak with noticeable 
candor and unanimity. 

Said one of them to the writer : " Grover won 
our admiration by his three traits of indomitable 
industry, unpretentious courage and unswerving 
honesty. I never saw a more thorough man at 
anything he undertook. Whatever the subject 
was, he was reticent until he had mastered all its 
bearings and made up his own mind — and then 
nothing could swerve him from his conviction. It 
was this quality of intellectual integrity more than 
anything else perhaps that made him afterwards 
listened to and respected when more brilliant men 
who were opposed to him were applauded and for- 
gotten." 

It was about the year 1858 that the young student 
secured admission to the bar. lie had been four 
years with the Rogers firm, and after his admission 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 37 

he remained with them four years longer, thus 
securing a thorough training and equipment for his 
profession. 

THE FIRST STEP INTO PUBLIC LIFE. 

In 1863 the question of who should be appointed 
Assistant District-Attorney for the county of Erie 
was warmly discussed by the young lawyers in 
Messrs. Rogers & Bowen's offices. There were sev- 
eral that were both eligible and anxious, but it does 
not appear that young Cleveland advanced his own 
claims. Indeed, it is a fact that after the matter 
had been pretty well canvassed they all agreed that 
he was the person that ought to have it and they 
urged him to accept it. This simple incident speaks 
volumes for the already developed character of the 
young man. He was appointed and from that 
moment his public record began. During the three 
years that he was in the District Attorney's office 
the great bulk of its duties fell upon his shoulders, 
and then it was that his enormous vital strength 
and tireless industry made themselves felt. One 
may say now that it is well perhaps that the 
District-Attorney himself was rather disposed to 
let youth and vigor shoulder the great part of the 
responsibility. It was just the training that young 
Cleveland needed, and he went into it with his coat 
offi 

There is nothing discreditable about Mr. Cleve- 
land's war record. At the opening of the war it 



38 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

was a question whether he should go to the army 
or not. He was entirely ready and willing to do 
so, but his father had died some time before and 
left a widowed mother, poor and with a large 
family, several of whom were daughters. Provision 
had to be made for their support, and yet the 
family felt obliged to contribute in some way to 
the cause of the Union. A sort of family council 
was held. Grover had just been admitted to the 
bar at Buffalo and was beginning to have some 
practice. Two younger brothers volunteered to go 
to the army and leave Grover at home to support 
their mother and sisters. This was agreed to all 
around, and the two brothers went to the front and 
served with honor till the war closed. When peace 
was declared they returned home, but w^ere soon 
afterwards lost at sea. Grover Cleveland was the 
first man drafted in Buffalo. He promptly sup- 
plied a substitute, who made a faithful soldier. 
Mr. Cleveland has always been a friend of the 
soldiers, and was a war Democrat. While Mayor 
of Buffalo there was an attempt to make capital 
out of the fact that he had vetoed a bill appropria- 
ting public money for a soldiers' monument in the 
city. When the facts came out it proved to be 
true that he did veto such a bill, and that he did 
it on the crround that the Citv Council had no 
right to appropriate public funds for a purpose of 
that kind, but he suggested that the result might 
be reached by a public subscription. The hint was 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 39 

adopted, a subscription paper was taken around 
and the first and largest subscriber was Mayor 
Cleveland. During his term as Governor of New 
York he approved a bill providing that the heads 
of the various State departments should, when 
making appointments, give preference to honorably 
discharged soldiers and sailors of the United States. 
Some irritation was created afterward because of 
his vetoing a bill in reference to Grand Army 
badges. In the bill was a provision making the 
wearing of such a badge by any person not entitled 
to do so by reason of membership of some post a 
crime, punishable by imprisonment. Mr. Cleveland 
thought the penalty unnecessarily severe. It was 
also logically observed that the child of a veteran 
might be imprisoned for wearing his father s badge. 

So faithfully had he conducted the affairs of 
the county that at the end of three years he was 
nominated by the Democrats for the District-Attor- 
neyship. Here, again, it is an indisputable fact 
that he did not solicit the nomination, hesitated to 
accept it, and did not turn his hand over to secure 
his election. It is said in Buffalo that on the day 
of election he was trying a case in court w^hile his 
friends were electioneering for him on the street, 
and the Judge on the Bench, who was presumably 
an admirer of his, peremptorily adjourned the 
case and told Cleveland to go and attend to his 
interests. 

In this, his first appearance as a candidate for 



40 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

office, he was defeated, his opponent heing the Hon. 
Lyman K. Bass, whose majority, however, was not 
larc^e. The year following: his defeat Mr. Cleveland 
formed a partnership in the law with the late 
Mayor I. V. Vanderpoel, but on the election of Mr. 
Vanderpoel as Police Justice soon afterward he 
became a member of the firm of Laning, Cleveland 
& Folsom, of which the head was the late Senator 
A. P. Laning. 



CHAPTER II. 
SHERIFF, MAYOR AND GOVERNOR. 

Elected Sheriff of Erie County— Hoav He CoNDUo-riiii 
His Office— He Resumes His Practice of the Law- 
Elected Mayor of Republican Buffalo by bnOO Ma- 
jority—His Model Administration— An Enemy of all 
Wasteful and Corrupt Measures — His Fearlt^ss Ve- 
toes AND Strict Attention to His Duties— His Views 
ON Citizenship— Elected Governor of the State of 
New York by the Unprecedented Majority of 192,854 
Votes- His Administration— Unassuming, Industri- 
ous, Civil, Just, Careful, Kind, Polite, Above Sus- 
picion—The Admirable Character of His Selections 
for Office. 

The fall of 1870 found Grover Cleveland 
again a candidate for a local office, that of High 
Sheriff of Erie County, New York State, and he 
was elected after a vigorous canvass ; in Avhich 
capacity he served faithfully for a term of three 
years, filling the office with conspicuous credit and 
dignity. When he was first nominated for the 
Presidency, a special correspondent of the New 
York World Avrote as follows : 

Just now, when everything hangs by a thread 
at Chicago, Buffalo is talking of many things which 
befell its model Mayor, the State's model Governor 
and whom many thousands of warm personal 

41 



42 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

friends here hope to vote for as the nation's reform 
Pfesideiit — Grover Clevehmd. It was as Sheriff 
of Erie County that the Governor became known 
in a political or oflicial wa}', and many interesting 
anecdotes are told by those wlio remember those 
days. During his term of office as vSherilT the 
Governor swung two men into eternity. The first 
one was tlie notorious Jack Gaffney, a reckless 
young fellow who kept a saloon at the corner of 
Washington and Carrol streets, almost opposite the 
Courier office. Gaffney w^as seated in a low dive 
on Canal street — '^Ted" Sweeney's — playing cards 
with a kindred spirit named Fahey. The two 
quarrelled over the stakes and Gaffney shot and 
killed Fahey in cool blood, lie was sentenced by 
the General Term in December to hang February 
7, followimr. Durincf these two months there was 
the greatest eflbrts made on the part of the re- 
porters to find out how the condennied man spent 
his time, but the sheriff turned a deaf ear to them, 
and not a few times gave them to understand that 
they wanted to know too nnich. He kept them 
out of the jail entirely after a while and they w^ere 
in sore straits. The interest in the case was inten- 
sified at the last from the fact that Gov. Hoflman 
respited the condemned for a w^eek, and that the 
most strenuous eflbrts were made to get a commu- 
tation of sentence for the doomed man. Mean- 
while the solid old sheriff was more rigid in his 
discipline than ever, and he even went so far as to 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 43 

station a man outside with strict orders to keep 
reporters off the premises. This outside guard 
was used to relieve the guard inside Gafiney's cell, 
so that he was well posted on what w^is going on 
inside. One of the reporters, who now, by the 
way, is editor of the city papers, conceived the 
idea of "working" the grim sentinel outside. lie 
did not try to do it all at once, but by a skilful 
working of his points he became acquainted with 
him as the young man who attended the spiritual 
adviser. By degrees he became aware that the 
grim sentinel had a weakness for beer. It was 
easy work after that, for he contrived to meet 
him every night after he was relieved, and together 
the two talked over the events of the dav in the 
jail over their beverage. The guard was' full of 
information in just the proportion that he was full 
of beer, and the facts that filled many a breezy 
column of his paper were costing the enterprising 
news-gatherer many glasses of beer. Sheriff Cleve- 
land was wild. He questioned every one about the 
jail, but could get no satisfaction. At last his eye 
fell upon the sentinel and he was spotted. It was 
the night before the execution the two were seen 
together. That settled it, for in the morning the 
sentinel was gone and in his place was another. 
Gaffney swung on the morning of the 14th of Feb- 
ruary, 1872. Many citizens of the city remember 
the execution. 

The second execution performed by Mr. Cleve- 



44 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

hind while Sheriff was five months Later. The 
murderer named Morrissey was one of the most 
despicable wretches that ever deserved a shameful 
death. He lived with his poor old mother in the 
vicinity of the old "Packet" dock, in the rear of 
what was known as the Alhambra theatre. He 
was a thorou2;hlv heartless man and was o-iven to 
frequent and continued debauches, during which 
he submitted his dependent mother to the most 
shameful cruelty. While on one of these sprees 
lie sought out his mother's hovel and demanded 
from her the few pence she had earned by her own 
exertions to buy bread. She refused him, when he 
struck her to the floor. At the time she was cut- 
ting a loaf of bread for his supper. As she strug- 
gled to her feet she said to him, " You had better 
kill your mother and be done with it." As she ut- 
tered the words he grasped the knife from her hands 
and with the words, " I will kill you then," buried 
it in her breast. The horror of the matricide made 
people of the city shudder, and the jury by which 
he was tried lost no time in bringing in a verdict 
of murder in the first degree. Morrissey was sen- 
tenced to hang on the Gth day of September. 
Prominent among the witnesses on that famous 
trial was Albert Haight, now a Supreme Court 
Judge. The execution took place on the day 
named in the warrant, and the present President 
was the executioner. 

On retiring from the place he resumed his prac- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 45 

tice, forming a partnership with his old political 
.adversary, Lyman K. Bass, the firm-name being 
Bass, Cleveland & Bissell. V/hen some years later 
Mr. Bass removed to Colorado a new firm was of 
necessity formed, its name being Cleveland, Bissell 
& Sicard — a firm that soon acquired a place among 
the very first law-firms in Erie County. 

It was while thus associated that Grover Cleveland 
achieved his distinction as a lawyer second to few 
in the western part of the State for legal acumen 
and intellectual honesty. His jury and bench 
trials were distinguished by clear views, direct, 
simple logic and a thorough mastery of all the in- 
tricacies of the cases, and his invariable avoidance 
of extrinsic issues and purely technical devices 
secured for him the respect of his own profession 
and the admiration of the public. These qualities, 
combined with the fidelity and independence of his 
official action while in office, brought him promi- 
nently before the public of Buffiilo when that city, 
unable to extricate itself from a municipal octopus. 
was casting about for a staunch reform leader. 

MAYOR OF BUFFALO. 

It was the year 1881 that brought Mr. Cleve- 
land into his first public prominence of special im- 
portance. Buffalo had been badly ruled by a ring 
of Republican politicians, and the conscience of the 
party had revolted against it, when the Democrats, 
conscious of the fine reputation Mr. Cleveland en- 



46 STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 

joyed for uprigiitness of character, «ind seeing their 
opportunity, called him out from his retirement 
from politics to be their candidate for Mayor of 
the city. Buffalo is usually Republican by from 
2,000 to 5,000 majority, and Mr. Cleveland's elec- 
tion on the Democratic ticket by a riiajority of 5,000 
was simply a tribute to his persona) popularity and 
personal integrity — above all to his u-^rsonal integ- 
rity. 

His administration was marked by rare abilit}^ 
and judgment, and his courage in dealing with 
reckless and corrupt measures won him the respect 
of all classes of citizens. Wasteful and corrupt 
measures were always vetoed and effectually killed. 
Not an enactment was passed over his veto. The 
veto of the notorious street cleaning av;ard alone 
saved the city $109,000. 

He passed the first few weeks of his term of 
office in attentively studying the details of every 
department of the city administration. His pre- 
vious experiences as Assistant District-Attorney 
and as Sheriff taught him what to look for and 
where to look for it. He found the ordinary 
municipal abuses, sanctioned by long habit and im- 
munity, flourishing as usual. One morning he 
surprised the city by issuing an order that all the 
officials should keep strict business hours, like the 
employes of private firms. Before the office-hold- 
ers had recovered from this shock he began a 
series of vetoes which equally astonished the Com- 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 47 

mon Council. This Board had a Republican ma- 
jority and attempted to override the vetoes, but 
Mayor Cleveland's terse, logical, business-like mes' 
sages were published, and public opinion was too 
strong for the opposition Councilmen. They at- 
tempted to entrap him by passing a resolution ap' 
portioning for the celebration of Decoration Day 
a sum of m'oney reserved by the charter for other 
purposes, believing that Mayor Cleveland would 
not dare to interfere with Decoration Day, or that 
he would become unpopular if he did. Down 
came the veto as promptly as ever, and in his mes- 
sage the Mayor so thoroughly exposed the trick 
that his popularity, instead of diminishing, rapidly 
increased. 

His administration of the office fully justified 
the partiality of the friends who insisted upon 
nominating liim, and vindicated the good judgment 
of the people Avho so powerfully insisted upon 
electing him. It is not too much to say that in 
the first half of the first year he almost revolution- 
ized Buffalo's municipal government. With no 
more power than his predecessors had, he inaugu- 
rated reforms before only hoped for, and corrected 
abuses which had become almost venerable. Ac- 
counts against the city were thoroughly audited, 
since he pointed out what is required of an officer 
whose duty it is to audit. The wdiolesome rule of 
competition was adopted for important w^ork that 
used to be given out in the form of political pat- 



48 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

ronaizc. So far as one man can see, he saw to it 
that the city got the full value of its money. lie 
knew his power and was not afraid to use it. He 
conquered the most corrupt combinations ever 
formed in the council and rebuked the conspirators 
in terms that brou^lit the blush of shame to the 
mtist brazen of Aldermen. His veto messages have 
become municipal classics. Knowing his duty he 
fanhfuUy performed it. 

\V^hen Mr. Cleveland entered upon the office of 
M?iyor the Common Council had determined to 
b lild an intercepting sewer and had advertised for 
prcjosals. The lowest bids for the work was 
Si 508,000. Mr. Cleveland thought that the 
seiv^er could be built cheaper if a committee of 
tizens had chariire of its construction. Throujih 
f is efforts, though opposed in Council, a law was 
jjassed allowing a connnission to be appointed. 
This commission, composed of representative citi- 
zens, conferred with the most eminent sewer engi- 
neers of the country, and on their advice have 
adopted a plan that will meet all requirements at 
(in-estimated cost of $764,370. The plan has been 
rtccepted by the Council and the sewer will be con- 
structed accordingly. The saving to the city on 
this item alone is $803,030. On June 19th the 
Council voted to award the street-cleaning contract, 
for live years, to George Talbot at his bid of $422,- 
500. There were several lower bids, by thoroughly 
responsible men. Mayor Cleveland vetoed the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 49 

award, severely condemning the attempted waste of 
the people's money. The contract was subsequently 
awarded to the lowest bidder^^Capt. Tliomas May- 
tham — at $313,500. The saving to the city by 
this veto was $109,000. The amount saved on 
these two items durins: the first six months of Mavor 
Cleveland's administration was nearly $1,000,000. 
Mr. Cleveland's early life. 
A special correspondent gives the following 
sketch of the early life of the Democratic candidate 
for the Presidencv : 

"A little village twelve miles up the Black 
River Railroad from Utica bears the singular name 
of Holland Patent. Less than a thousand souls 
live in this quiet hamlet, which but for the ac- 
cidents of politics would probably never have been 
heard of outside of the records of Oneida county. 
It was made famous in a day by the nomination of 
Governor Cleveland for the Presidency. True it 
is that neither the place nor its humble people 
ever knew much of him, either as boy or man, for 
his life there can be spanned by the circle of a few 
months. It has held the family hearthstone for 
many years and that now makes it a place of note. 
Tlie father died here, when he had said his long 
prayers and given good old doctrinal sermons to 
his slender Hock only three weeks. His mother 
made it her home until her death, soon after her 
son was elected Governor of New York. The only 
maiden sister he has still keeps up the humble 
cottage, which will now figure in song, story and 
picture as the early and only real home of the 
Democratic Presidential nominee. 

D 



50 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

"Over at Clinton, a secluded village some ten 
miles acroi^s the ii;it country from here, he went to 
scliool some time before his parents moved up to 
* the Patent.' But he is remembered there only as the 
son of a poor Presbyterian preacher, who wore shabby 
clothes and was always ready to fight, not only 
for himself, but for his younger companions, when 
he or they were nagged by the older or more fortu- 
nate boys. There are not many reminiscences of 
his father to be had there or here. He is remem- 
bered as a rigid disciple of the Blue Stocking faith, 
one of these strong, severe characters, which 'would 
have perished at the stake for tenets he would not 
forsake.' The mother is also readily recalled as a 
positive force in this pious household. The blood 
of a good, Southern Maryland family runs in her 
veins, and it was a good strain with wdiich to warm 
the frigid qualities ol' the cold New England stock 
which was top in the head of the household. Hence 
the tvn strong children who were born of the union, 
offspring well eqnip[)ed with the qualities of body 
and mind for stilf battle with the world. Not 
brilliant, but able, substantial people, all of them. 
Whether or not it was the Southern blood tiiat 
changed the temper ot the children I cannot say, 
but I believe that out of the five boys none of 
them turned to the ministry as their ancestors in 
the male line had done for generations before. One 
or two of the girls married preachers, but most of 
them chose to look for a better material chance in 
life than can be found in product of mite societies 
and of donation 2ratherin<j:s. 

" The maiden sister has highly distinguished her- 
self as an authoress and teacher, and is popular among 
her Iriends. x\ll of the children were good in the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 11 

head and were educated in a very strict school. 
They were well grounded in a sense of right and 
justice, and the mother seems to have been as severe 
a disciplinarian as the father. She evidently seems 
never to have lost her oversight over them or to 
have withheld her good advice. After Grover was 
elected Mayor of Buffalo the mother wrote him 
rather disapproving his entering pubhc life. After 
saying what her ambitions were for liim and ex- 
pressing a natural tinge of gratification at his 
election, she concluded her epistle by saying ; ^ But 
now that you have taken upon yourself the bur- 
thens of public office do right, act honestly, impar- 
tially and fearlessly.' Tlie injunction was obe\ed 
and hisccturage has won him a phenomenal success. 
"It would appear from a close study of this 
man's conduct and general traits of character from 
boyhood up, right here, where his early days were 
spent, and in Buffalo, where his later life has been 
an open book to its people, that his hard struggle 
for a place in the world has ever given him su- 
preme self-reliance. He was about seventeen when 
he left Holland Patent and went to New York to 
help teach the blind. He had that early established 
the reputation of being a nervy, manly sort of a 
young fellow, somewhat diffident, but not afraid 
to face any emergency which might confront him. 
He seems to have assumed more than any other 
member of the family the care of his mother and 
sisters. About the only estate, save the little 
house up at Uhe Patent', that the father left his 
widow was the ten robust children. 

TEACHER OF THE BLIND. 

"Mr. Cleveland's experiences in teaching the 



62 STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 

blind in New York were hy no means pleasant, and 
he appears to have been engaged in this sort of 
work in that city about the same time and for tlie 
same length of time that Mr. Blaine occupied a 
precisely similar position in Philadelphia. Alter 
he left New York and journeyed to Buffalo he had a 
still harder life, if possible, than before his father 
died. His uncle, to wdiom he went for advice in 
that city, was a severe old Presbyterian ; not exactly 
a miser, but a strict and unyielding business man, 
and believed that every boy should make his own 
place in life by his own energies and application. 
Without any compunctions of conscience he made 
the nephew work hard to keep himself in food and 
common raiment while he was studying his [)rofes- 
sion of the law. Thus it was all work and no play 
with him until after he had passed his majority. 
The very conditions of existence with him tough- 
ened his mental as well as his physical fibre, and 
grooved him into a plain, simple way of living that 
he has never forsaken. His bachelor quarters in 
the building where he has his oflicos are comfort- 
able, but very unj)retentious. 

" The gossip in his home is that he has never had 
any other place of residence since he began to prac- 
tice. He has not even kept up the style of club 
life, but took his meals at Mrs. Ganson's boarding 
house, with the added luxury of a Sunday morn- 
ing breakfiist at the Terrapin Lunch, a plain res- 
taurant, wdiere a good meal can be got at modest 
fiiTures. 

"This style of living was not kept up after he 
became well-to-do to be saving, for he has the 
reputation of being a rather open-handed man and 
not given to hoarding money. It is apparent, from 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 53 

the talk of all his friends, that he loves^congenial 
companionship and is a most pleasant conversation- 
alist, thoroughly capable of entertaining a company 
of any character. I found it current talk in Buf- 
falo that he had always been much courted in soci- 
ety, but that he could rarely be induced to enter 
the charmed circle. There is a good deal of inter- 
esting chat about the plans that have been set to 
capture this bachelor and their universal failure. 
One story runs that only recently some friends had 
two charmim? ladies visitinsr them from the Eastern 
States, and that the lady of the house gave an 
evening party especially for the purpose of bring- 
ing the Governor within the intiuence of these 
attractive girls. He shunned the temptation, as 
he has done many of the kind, and did not attend. 
He said to a lady who chafled him about his bach- 
elor life, that if she could find a girl whom she 
would certify was just right he would enter into 
bonds to marrv her if she would have him. This 
good-iuitured raillery has given rise to the rumor 
that he is thinkins: of makin"; a chanjjre in his 
domestic relations. 

'' It is singular to find a man who has led a 
bachelor life so well thought of by all classes as 
Mr. Cleveland is in Buffalo. He has the confi- 
dence and respect of everybody except a few ward 
politicians whom he has disappointed. His politi- 
cal methods, as you find them developed at his 
home, are not calculated to commend him to the 
avera«;e politician. His self-reliance, candid faith 
in his own judgment and unflinching honesty have 
earned him the reputation among this class of being 
ungrateful to those who have helped to make him 
a power. 



54 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

**Aftei: gathering the home impressions of the 
man and the features of his early life in this local- 
ity, I spent a half day at Albany with the man who 
has so recently filled the public eye plumb full. lie 
is a good deal such a man as you would expect to 
find from his experiences, training, birth and gen- 
eral habits of lite. He is a large and powerfully 
built, well-proportioned and rather good-looking 
man. He has a pleasant cast of countennnce and 
is rather a winning talker. He has not the quality 
of magnetism about him, but impresses you witli 
his candor and openness. He is an attractive man, 
without being too familiar, and is the most demo- 
cratic official I ever saw. 

"The humblest man or woman is admitted to 
his presence as readily as the highest. He im- 
pressed me as a person having the judicial quality 
of mind developed to a very high degree — one of 
those strong-headed men with a good opinion of liis 
own understanding of anything he considered. 
There is not the least characteristic of a politician 
about him. This is of course the natural result 
of a life that has been busy and entirely devoted 
of late years to the enjoyment of the fruits of pro- 
fessional labor and to dealing with men upon the 
basis of perfect fairness. He is a singular man and 
has led a peculiar life. If the majority of his years 
have been tending up hill, his later days certainly 
have not, and he seems to be shaping himself to 
take solid comlbrt among" the rewards of his toil." 

MAYOR CLEVELAND ON CITIZENSHIP. 

When it became known in this country that Mr. 
Lowell had abandoned the Americans imprisoned 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 65 

in Ireland without formal accusation, trial, or con- 
viction, the public indignation found expression in 
mass meetings to protest against his course, and 
about the time that the controversy culminated 
such a meeting was called in Buffalo. It was held 
April 9, 1882, in St. James' Hall, and Mr. Cleveland, 
who had been then three months Mayor of Buffalo, 
presided. On taking the chair he delivered the fol- 
lowing address, which is certainly as frank and 
outspoken an utterance in regard to the duties of 
the American Government to its citizens abroad as 
any one need ask for : 

" Fellow-citizens — This is the formal mode of 
address on occasions of this kind, but I think we 
seldom realize fully its meaning or how valuable a 
thing it is to be a citizen. From the earliest civil- 
ization to be a citizen has been to be a free man, 
endowed with certain privileges and advantages 
and entitled to the full protection of the State. 
The defense and protection of the personal rights 
of its citizens has always been the paramount and 
most important duty of a free, enlightened govern- 
ment. And perhaps no government has this sacred 
trust more in its keeping than this, the best and 
freest of them all — for here the people who are to 
be protected are the source of those powers which 
they delegate upon the express compact that the 
citizen shall be protected. For this purpose we 
choose those who for the time being shall manage 
the machinery which we have set up for our de- 
fense and safety. 

"And this protection adheres to us in all lands 



56 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

and places as an incident of citizenship. Let but 
the weight of a sacrilegious liand be put upon this 
sacred thing, and a great, strong government springs 
to its feet to avenge the wrong. Thus it is that 
the native-born American citizen enjoys his birth- 
rights. But when in the westward march of em- 
pire this nation ^vas founded and took root, we 
beckoned to the Old World and invited hither its 
immigration, and provided a mode by which those 
who souGfht a home amoncc us micrht become our 
fellow-citizens. They came by thousands and hun- 
dreds of thousands : thev came and 

' Hewed the dark old woods awn y, 
And gave the virgin fiekls to day;' 

they came with strong sinews and brawny arms to 
aid in the growth and progress of a new country ; 
they came, and upon our altars laid their fealty 
and submission ; they came to our temples of jus- 
tice, and under the solemnitv of an oath renounced 
all aUegiance to every other State, potentnte and 
sovereignty, and surrendered to us all the duty per- 
taining to such allegiance. We have accepted their 
fealty and invited them to surrender the protection 
of their native land. 

"And what should be given them in return? 
Manifestly good faith aiid every dictate of honor 
demands that we give them the same liberty and 
protection here and elsewhere wdiich vve vouchsafe 
to our native-born citizens. And that this has 
been accorded to them is the crowning glory of 
American institutions. It needed not the statute, 
which is now the law of the land, declaring that 
' all naturalized citizens wdiilo in foreign lands are 
entitled to and shall receive from this Government 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 57 

the same protection of person and property which 
is accorded to native-born citizens/ to voice the 
policy of our nation. 

'^ In all lands where the semblance of liberty is 
preserved the right of a person arrested to a speedy 
accnsation and trial is, or ought to be, a fundamen- 
tal law as it is a rule of civilization. At any rate 
we hold it to be so ; and this is one of the rights 
which we undertake to f]^uarantee to anv native- 
born or naturalized citizen of ours, whether he be 
imprisoned by order of the Czar of Eussia or under 
the pretext of a law administered for the benefit 
of the landed aristocracy of England. We do not 
claim to make laws for other countries, but we do 
insist that whatsoever those laws may be, they 
shall, in the interests of human freedom and the 
rights of mankind so flir as they involve the liberty 
of our citizens, be speedily administered. We have 
a right to say and do say that mere suspicion with- 
out examination on trial is not sufficient to justify 
the long imprisonment of a citizen of America. 
Other nations may permit their citizens to be thus 
imprisoned, but ours will not. 

** We have met here to-night to consider this 
subject, and inquire into the cause and the reasons 
and the justice of the imprisonment of certain of 
our fellow-citizens now held in British prisons with- 
out the semblance of a trial or legal examination. 
Our law declares that the Government shall act in 
such cases. But the people are the creators of the 
government. The undaunted apostle of the Chris- 
tian religion, imprisoned and persecuted, appealing 
centuries a2:o to the Roman law and the riirhts of 
Roman citizenship, boldly demanded, 'Is it lawful 
for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and un- 



58 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

condemned?' So, too, might we ask, appealing to 
the Law of our Land and the laws of civilization, 
' Is it lawful that these, our fellows, be imprisoned, 
who are American citizens and uncondemned ?' I 
deem it an honor to be called upon to preside at 
such a meeting, and I thank you for it." 

A correspondent of the New York World, who 
visited Buffalo, to inquire among those who knew 
him best about the character and mode of life of 
Mr. Cleveland, writes as follows : 

" While stopping in Buffalo for a few daj's, I 
had an op[)ortunit3' to converse with several per- 
sons who had known their Mayor long and well. 
I found a sterlino^ reirard for the man evervwhere, 
and it was a regard uninfluenced by political bias. 
Among those best able to form independent opin- 
ions, this regard was obviously founded on charac- 
ter. Among the people themselves there was a 
Avell-defined conviction that he was a man they 
could depend upon. As one rough fellow said to 
me in the hotel saloon : ^ Well, 1 don't know about 
his learnin' or how he stands on a lot of questions 
that we do!i*t understand, and don't want to, but 
he's a safe man, and he's pretty sure to understand 
them better than we do, and he'll do the right 
thing.' 

"I suppose that this kind of faith in character 
is one of the most inestimable discoveries that a 
man can make, and I was interested to hnd that 
the element of popularity did not grow out of the 
subject good-fellowship, or mere manners. I failed 
to hear anv one sav that Grover Cleveland had any 
magnetism, or that he fascirnated a crowd, or that 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. ^' 59 

he drew people after him with a personal glamour. 
On the contrary I formed a very distinct notion 
that there was a class of men that he repelled, and 
that disliked him as easily, as naturally and as 
sincerely as a thief hates a magistrate or a smug- 
gler hates a dead calm. Indeed it was impossible 
to dis€over either in the man's record or in the 
reputation that had grown up about him anything 
dramatic. The resultant heroism of his life is that 
common heroism of the ^common' work-a-day 
world which does it duty, not lor effect but for a 
principle and a purpose, and which, if it does not 
so easily catch the eye and the ear, is after all the 
enduring force that the people come to look for 
and rely upon when there is great work to be done. 
I looked into his law offices on Main street — this 
later laboratory where were evolved the legal func- 
tions that came into the public service of his own 
community. They were curiously solid and un- 
pretentious, and upstairs were the bachelor rooms 
where for years Grover Cleveland had slept and 
w6rked. 1 examined them minutely, for one often 
obtains a glimpse of character by such entourage. 
They were indicative of the simple tastes, method- 
ical habits and studious life of the occupant. Two 
or three pictures, evidently selected not for deco- 
ration but because the owner prized the subject 
and admired the treatment, hung on the walls. 
But there was elsewhere not a superiluous article 
in the room. Elegance had been forgotteu in the 
successful attempt to secure comfort and conven- 
ience." 

GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Mayor Cleveland made such an exceptional re- 



60 -- STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

cord that the eyes of all the Democrats in the State 
were turned to him as the most available candidate 
for Governor, and the press of both political par- 
ties commended him as a fit executive of the State 
of New York. 

He was elected to that office in November," 1882, 
by a majority of 192,854 over Charles J. Folger, 
the Republican nominee, and he took possession 
of the Executive Chamber on the 1st of January, 
1883. 

The earliest reports from the Democratic State 
Convention of 1882 spoke of the nomination of 
Mayor Cleveland for Governor of the State of New 
York as a surprise. It was no surprise to the men 
who proposed the nomination. lie had been fight- 
ing tlie petty thieves of the Buffalo municipality 
for a year, and the people of thnt section wanted 
him to fight the big thieves of the State govern- 
ment. ' The tier of four counties, of which Erie is 
the chief, sent their delegates to the Convention 
pledged to vote for Grover Cleveland, and for no- 
body else. They knew their man. and soon taught 
the Convention to know him. On the morning after 
the nomination of Grover Cleveland the Buffalo 
Express^ the leading Republican newspaper in the 
interior of the State, announced that it would sup- 
port him instead of the Republican candidate. 
Within a week many other leading Republican 
organs and politicians took the same bold ground. 
Republicans — so divided upon almost every other 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 61 

subject, <is District Attorney Woodford and George 
William Curtis — agreed in repudiating the Folger 
and forgery ticket. Tliousands of Republicans led 
by the Young Men's Club, of Brooklyn, voted for 
Grover Cleveland, and thousands more refrained 
from voting for any Governor. He swept the 
State like a tidal wave, and being elected by a 
majority over Folger of 192,854. 

Mr. Cleveland went to Albany just before the 
beo:innina; of 1883 to assume the office of Governor 
in the most quiet and unostentatious manner. On 
the day of his inauguration he walked to the capi- 
tal and avoided all appearance of parade. II is 
address evinced a deep sense of the responsibility 
which had come upon him, and an evident deter- 
mination to do his best. He was obliged at once 
to address the Legislature and to face the require- 
ments of its action. One of his first acts was to 
appoint the Railroad Commissioners provided for 
by the law passed the year before. The admirable 
character of his selections showed his judgment 
of men and of their fitness for special duties. The 
same characteristic was displayed as well as a con- 
scientious disregard of mere partisan considerations 
in the important appointments which came later 
in the session. In naming Mr. Shanahan as Super- 
intendent of Public Works, Mr. Perry as Commis- 
sioner of the new Capitol, and Mr. Andrews as Su- 
perintendent of the Capitol Buildings he looked to 
fitness alone. 



62 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

lie not only acted in conformity with these sen- 
timents in making appointments but promptly ap- 
proved the civil service reform bills which public 
sentiment and the persistency of an earnest minor- 
ity compelled the Legislature to pass, following it at 
once with a most admirable appointment of Com- 
missioners, lie has aided and sustained the commis- 
sion at all points in a most unreserved and hearty 
manner. In dealim? with the acts of the Le2:isla- 
ture generally Governor Cleveland early developed 
his peculiarity of studying carefully every meas- 
ure laid before him, not only with a view to judging 
of its effect and bearing upon public interests, but 
to ascertain that it was consistent witli existing 
laws and free in its form from such defects as would 
produce trouble in its operation. He adopted a 
practice quite unusual of sending back measures 
whose purpose he approved, but which were defec- 
tive in form, to have them corrected. In his vetoes, 
which were quite numerous, he displayed the ut- 
most candor and a complete disregard of the question 
whether certain persons or interests would not be 
aggrieved by the failure of measures which he be- 
lieved were not demanded by the wider interests 
of the public. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE VETOES OF MR. CLEVELAND T\^HILE GOVERNOR. 

Special LEGisLATioisr Prohibited by the Constitution 
OF THE State of New York— The Five Cent Fare 
Bill— The Honor and Integrity of the State in 
the Custody of the Executive, and he has no Right 
to see it Impaired— The Tenure of Office Bill— 
The Bill to Regulate the Hours of Labor of Car- 
Drivers and Conductors -Tammany's Hostility- 
Other Enemies. 

In spite of the amendment to the State' Consti- 
tution forbidding special legislation, many bills of 
that sort have entered his chamber only to be 
killed. The same care and painstaking were ob- 
servable when more general interests were at stake. 
He vetoed a general street railroad bill because the 
rights of the people were so loosely guarded. His 
veto of the Buffalo Fire Department bill was against 
the interests of certain party managers in his home 
city, but he vetoed the bill for that very reason and 
because it was not in the interest of the people at 
large. The same care of the public led him to 
veto a bill which removed many of the present 
restrictions and allowed the trustees of savings 
banks to invest in wald-cat securities. His veto of 
the Prison Commission bill was because he thought 
it ought to report sooner than next January. He 
has steadily put his foot on all measures to exempt 
from taxation. His disapproval of two or three 
of the New York reform bills was because they 
were so loosely drawn. 

(63) 



64 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND 

III liis prompt approval of the bills for reforming 
and reorganizing the city service in New York he 
has shown his comprehension of the needs of muni- 
cipal government and made himself effectively the 
leader of the movement. The moral effect his 
prompt action on the one bill taking from the des- 
potic and trading Board of Aldermen the confirm- 
ing power of throwing the responsibility entirely 
upon the Mayor enabled the reform element in the 
Legislature to continue their work with the assur- 
ance that every necessary and reasonable aid would 
be u^iven tliem bv the Executive. The news of the 
signing of tlie Roosevelt Mayoralty bill was received 
by the Democratic politicians, and the Tannnany 
members especially, with deep disgust. He disap- 
proved the Five-cent Fare bill for constitutional 
reasons. Referring to his message, the Tribune 
editorially said : — " The message containing his 
reasons for sodoin;^: is strai2:htf)rward and forcible, 
and we believe will be pronounced sound by most 
of tlio.^e who have been strenuous in their demands 
for a reduction ol fares on the elevated roads. 
His objections to the measure are of a serious 
nature. He argues that to suffer it to become a 
law would mean the impairment of the obligation 
of a contract, involving a breach of faith and a 
betrayal of confidence by the State." 

Chief among his acts which have been subjected 
to adverse criticism by the laboring classes of this 
city is his veto of iVssembly bill No. 58 in March, 
1883. The act is commonlv known as the " Five- 
cent Fare bill," and forbade the collection or 
charge of more than five cents on any railroad in 
New York city for conveying a person any dis- 
tance between the Battery and Harlem. At the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 65 

time of its presentation the Governor was so im- 
pressed with its importance and the public interest 
which it excited that he exercised the greatest care 
and most diligent inquiry into the measure before 
rendering his decision. 

'* I am convinced," he said, " that in all cases 
the share which falls upon the Executive regarding 
the leofislation of the State should be in no manner 
evaded, but fliirly met by the expression of his 
carefully guarded and unbiased judgment. In 
his conclusion he may err, but if he has fairly and 
honestly acted, he has performed his duty and 
given to the people of the State his best endeavor." 

The Governor goes on to explain in justification 
of his veto that the Elevated Roads of this citv 
are now under the sole operation of the Man- 
hattan Elevated Railroad as lessee of the New 
York Elevated Railroad and the Metropolitan. 
He cites the provisions laid down in the act of 
April 20th, 1866, authorizing the construction of 
the West Side road, which specified that no more 
than five cents per mile might be charged for fare 
of one person. That road has since gone into the 
hands of the New York Elevated Railroad Com- 
pany, and a law was passed on June 17th, 1875, 
transferring the rights of the road to the new com- 
pany, and further providing that it be " hereby 
confirmed in the possession and enjoyments of said 
rights, powers, privileges and franchises as fully 
and at large as they were so granted in and by the 
acts to the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway 
Compan3\ The Court of Appeals, referring to this 
law, said : 

'' The effect of this act was to secure to the 
elevated railroad company all the rights, privileges 

E 



66 STEPHEN GRCVER CLEVELAND. 

and franchises of the V/est Side and Yonkera 
Patent Haihvaj Company under the purchase by 
and trant^fer to it." 

By another section of this act the New York 
Elevated Railroad was empowered to receive from 
each passenger a sum not exceeding ten cents a 
mile ior five miles or less. 

In 1875 another act was passed, commonly 
known as the Rapid Transit act, providing jor the 
appointment of a Board of Commissinners, m hose 
othee embraced authority to fix and determine the 
time within which the new elevated roads should be 
compk'ted, and to formulate a scale of maximum 
rates to be charged as i'are on such roads, and regu- 
late the hours during which special trains should 
be run at reduced rates of fare. In accojdance 
with the act the Mayor of this city appointed a 
Board of Commissioners, who expended a great 
deal of time and labor in the consideration of the 
proposed roads. They even fixed and determined 
specifically the route of the new New York Elevated 
Rnilroad, and prescribed with the utmost particu- 
laritv the manner and form of its construction and 
operation. A deliberate and specific agreement 
was made with the company that it should charge 
as fares upon its cars, at such hours as were not 
eml^racc-d within the time specified for tlie running 
of '' eouiinission " trains, at a rate " for all distances 
under live miles not to exceed ten cents, and not 
to e.xceed two cents lor each mile or iVactioi^of a 
mile over five miles, until the fare should amount 
to not exceeding fifteen cents for a through pas- 
sens2:er from and between the Battery ami inteisec- 
tion of 'fhird avenue and Oue JJundred and 
Twenty-ninth street, and from and between the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLETELAND. G7 

Battery and High Bridge not to exceed seventeen 
cents for a through passenger, and that for the en- 
tire distance from and hetvveen the Battery and 
Fifty-ninth street the fare sliall not exceed ten 
cents per passenger." 

A further agreement was made that commission 
trains should he run during certain hours of the 
morning and evening, upon which— for the henefit 
of workingmen and the hihoring chisses — the fare 
should not exceed five cents for conveyance be- 
tween the Battery and Fifty-ninth street, nor 
should exceed seven cents for a through passenger 
from the Battery to Harlem during those hours. 
The railroad cotnpany further agreed that when 
the net income of the proposed road, after all ex- 
penditures, taxes and charges are paid, should 
amount to a sum sufficient to pay exceeding ten 
per cent, per annum on the capital stock of tlie 
company, that in such case and within six months 
thereafter, and so loni? as said net earninixs amount 
to a sum sufficient to pay more than ten per cent., 
the said company would run commission trains on 
its road at all hours during which it should be 
operated, at the rates of fare mentioned. 

These agreements were at the time of their 
formulation highly satisfactory to the Commis- 
sioners, who accordimrly transmitted them to the 
Mayor, accompan.ied by a highly congratulatory- 
report, upon receipt of which tlie Mayor submitted 
the papers to the Board of Aldermen, who approved 
the act. This was in the fall of 1875. The New 
York Elevated Railroad Company thereupon con- 
structed its road from the Battery to Harlem, a 
distance often miles. 

The new bill, however, which was presented to 



68 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the Governor for signature last year, provided that, 
notwithstanding all the laws which had been 
passed and rigidly complied with on the part of 
the railroad company, a new scale of rates should 
be forced upon it, insisting that passengers should 
be carried the whole length of the road for live 
cents, a sum about half that wdiich was specified in 
the agreemrnit. In his consideration of the bill 
Gov. (Cleveland was compelled, out of a single spirit 
of honesty, to say : 

'' I am of the opinion that in the legislation and 
proceedings which I have detailed, and in the fact 
that pursuant thereto the road of the company was 
constructed and finished, there exists a contract in 
favor of this company which is protected by that 
clause of the Constitution of the United States 
which prohibits the passage of a law by any State 
impairing the obligation of contracts." 

lie went on to say that section 33 of the General 
Railroads act provided that the Legislature may, 
when any railroad shall be opened for use, from 
time to time alter or reduce the rates of freight, 
fare or other profits upon said road, but the sum 
shall not without the consent of the company be 
so reduced as to bring down the profits on the in- 
vested capital to h^ss than 10 per cent, per annum. 
In his communication to the Legislature vetoiniir 
the pro[)osed bill modifying the rates of fare, the 
Governor said that even if the State had the power 
to reduce the rates of fare on the elevated roads, 
it promised in its agreement not to do so except 
under certain circumstances and after a certain 
specified examination. 

'* 1 am not satisfied," he said, ''that these cir- 
cumstances exist. It is conceded that no such 



STEPHEN GROVEIl CLEVELAND. 69 

examination hns been made. The constitutional 
objections whicli I have suggested to the bill under 
consideration are not, I tliink, removed by the 
chxim that the proposed legislation is in the nature 
of an alteration of the charters of these companies, 
and that this is permitted by the State Constitution 
and by the provisions of some of the laws to which 
I have referred. I suppose that while the charters 
of corporations may be altered or repealed, it must 
be done in subordination to the Constitution of the 
United States, the supreme law of the land. This 
leads to the conclusion that the alteration of a 
charter cannot be made the pretext for the passage 
of a law which impairs the obligation of a contract. 
If I am mistaken in supposing that there are legal 
objections to this bill, there is another considera- 
tion which furnishes to my mind a sufficient reason 
why I should not give it my approval. 

" It seems to me that to arbitrarily reduce these 
fares at this time under existing circumstances in- 
volves a breach of faith on the part of the State 
and a betrayal of confidence wdiicli the State has 
invited. The fixct was notorious that for many 
years rapid transit was the great need of the in- 
habitants of the city of New York, and was of 
direct importance to the citizens of the State. 
Projects which promised to answer the people's 
wants in this direction failed and were abandoned. 
The Legislature, appreciating the situation, will- 
ingly passed statute after statute calculated to aid 
and encourage a solution of the problem. Capital 
was timid and hesitated to enter a new field full of 
risks and dangers. By the promise of liberal fares, 
as will be seen in all the acts passed on the sub- 
ject, and through other concessions gladly made^ 



T 



STEPHEN" GROVER CLEVELAND. 



capitalists were induced to invest their money in 
the enterprise, and rapid transit but hitely became 
an accomplished fact. But much of the risk, ex- 
pense and burden attending the maintenance of 
these roads is yet uidvnown and threatening. In 
tlie mean time, the people of the city of New York 
are receiving the full benelit of their construction, 
a irreat enhancement of the value of the taxable 
property of the city has resulted, and in addition 
to taxes, more than $120,000, being 5 per cent, in 
increase, pursuant to the law of 1868, has been 
paid by the companies into the city treasury, on 
the faith that the rate of fare agreed upon was 
secured to them. I am not aware that the corpora- 
tions have, by any default, forfeited any of their 
rights; and if they have, the remedy is at hand 
under existing: laws. 

" It is manifestly important that invested capital 
should be protected, and that its necessity and use- 
fulness in the development of enterprises valuable 
to the people should be recognized by conservative 
conduct on the part of the State government. We 
have especially in our keeping," continued Mr. 
Cleveland, " the honor and good faith of a great 
State, and we should see to it that no suspicion 
attaches, through any act of ours, to the fair fame 
of the commonwealth." 

The opposition, such as it is, to Governor Cleve- 
land on account of his veto of the Five-cent Fare 
bill can only be kept alive by the most reckless 
demauroizism. His act was one which must in time 
secure for him the respect of the people, for. how- 
ever d(*sirable it may have been to have the Ele- 
vated Railroad fares reduced, and however politic 
as a measure of popularity it may have been to 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 7l 

sign th<at bill, his objections to it are unanswerable. 
He believed the bill was unconstitutional, and that 
his duty as tlie Executive was not to sign it. He 
therefore sacrificed whatever chance of^ popularity 
was offered, and held to the determination to do 
his duty and stand by his convictions. This is one 
of those acts which the clamor of partisanship may 
obscure or pervert, but which the abiding sense of 
the community sooner or later is sure to indorse. 

The inteUigent workingman knows, in spite of 
political rhetoric, that the best safeguard he can 
have in a public servant is integrity of purpose and 
the courage to withstand the pressure of vested 
interests on the one hand and the idle clamor of a 
class on the other. 

Tliis is amply shown in the veto of the Me- 
chanics' Lien bill, which at the time was believed 
to be stronii;lv in the interest of the workini>;men, 
but which it is now known was wholly in the in- 
ten^st of lawyers and court employes, increasing 
as it did the fees and costs for enforcing liens and 
leaving out of sight entirely the security of work- 
in iimen's wajxes. 

And yet the act of the Governor in vetoing this 
bill was made use of by demagogues at the time to 
incite the workinc^men a2;ainst him. 

No act of Gov. Cleveland showed more clearly 
his independence of political considerations in his 
treatment of legislation than his refusal to approve 
what is known as "The Tenure of Office bill." 

If this bill had become a law, two valuable of- 
fices — those of the Corporation Counsel and the 
Commissioner of Public Works — would have been 
left vacant for the next Mavor to fill of his own 
volition immediately after his election. These po- 



72 STEPHEN GUOVEK CLEVELAND. 

sitions would have been just so much political cap- 
ital to aid the re<^ular Democracy, the earnest sup- 
porters of Mr. Cleveland, in the election of their 
Mayor. The bill, if approved, would have pre- 
vented the filling of the two vacancies by the 
acting Mayor with the confirmation of the Board 
of Aldermen. 

The failure of the bill of course left the next 
Maj^or at liberty to appoint and the acting Board 
of Aldermen to confirm a Corporation Counsel and 
a Commissioner of Public Works for four years be- 
fore they went out of office. 

Tammany Hall was unfriendly to the Governor, 
was friendly with Mayor Edson, and controlled 
the Board of Aldermeji throu,uh the deal witli the 
Republicans which made Aldernnm Kirk Presi- 
dent. 

Hubert 0. Thompson, the Acting Commissioner 
of Public Works, was a warm supporter of the 
Governor and a bitter opponent of Tammany 
Hall. It was the earnest desire of Tammany to 
get Mr. Thompson out of the Public Works De- 
partment, and in this they were certain of the co- 
operation of Major Edson, whose nominee they 
could hold in the Board of Aldermen. 

By his refusal to sign the Tenure of Office act, 
therefore. Gov. Cleveland gave Tammany, his po- 
litical enemy, the power to control these two im- 
portant offices and sacrificed Mr. Thompson, who 
was at war with Tammany. But the bill was loosely- 
drawn, inoperative and capable of mischievous con- 
struction, and so Gov. Cleveland refused his sig- 
nature to it, although by so doing he gave two 
valuable offices to Tammany and to the Board of 
Aldermen, which he had just made his enemy by 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 73 

taking from them the confirming power after that 
year. 

Gov. Cleveland also filed his reasons for with- 
holding his signature from the bill purporting ''To 
resfulate the hours of labor of drivers and conduct- 
ors of horse-cars in cities." They are as follows : 

" I fail to see any good purpose to be gained by 
this bill. It is distinctly and palpably class legisla- 
tion, in that it only applies to conductors and drivers 
on horse railroads. It does not prohibit the mak- 
ing of a contract for any number of hours' work, I 
think, and if it does, it is an interference with the 
employer's as well as employe's lights. If the car- 
drivers and conductors work fewer hours, they must 
receive less pay, and this bill does not prevent that. 
1 cannot think this bill is in the interest of the 
workingman.'* 

One of his vetoes, and one of much importance, 
was the Mechanics' Lien bill. On a careful exam- 
ination of this measure it is clear to anybody that 
such a law would injure instead of benefit the 
workingman. 

It was totally impracticable and loaded down 
with provisions which would defeat the very ends 
it sought to accomplish. It is charged that it was 
draw^n mainly in the interests of a clique of law^yers 
who aimed at increasing bills of costs in certain 
cases. Tlie Governor's memorandum, in which fatal 
objections are noticed, reads as follows : 

" The bill repeals in distinct terms a number of 
mechanics' lien laws, including one specially appli- 
cable to the city of New York. I notice two fea- 
tures which I think objectionable enough to war- 
rant me in declining to sign it. First, it gives all 
parties having claims four months after performance 



74 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

of work or furnishing of material to file a lien; sec- 
ond, it allows on proceedings to enforce the lien 
the same costs as in foreclosure cases. This would 
be quite onerous, and, I think, should not be al- 
lowed.' 

The position of the Governor in striking out the 
item of appropriation for the West Chester Catholic 
Protectory has furnished some demagogues food for 
misrepresentation and calumny from a religious 
standpoint. Such attacks have been efluctually 
disposed of by a despatch from Mr. Henry L. Ho- 
guet, president of the protectory. This despatch 
reads : 

" We never doubted the sincerity of the motive 
which induced Gov. Cleveland to withhold his sii>;- 
nature to the appropi'iation to the ])rotectory. W^e 
thought then and think now that he was not actu- 
ated by any feeling of bigotry or of hostility to 
Catholics or the Catholic institutions. On the con- 
trary, Gov. Cleveland is liberal in the extreme, and 
we are of the firm belief that he was led to with- 
holding his ap])roval of the appropriation solely by 
a sense of public duty as he viewed it." 

The pay of a driver on a Harlem Railroad line 
is, say, $2.00 per day. The round trip from tiie 
bridge to the City Hall and back takes 3 hours and 
20 minutes. Five round trips a day occupies IG 
hours and 40 minutes or, sav, 17 hours. 

These five round trips average 40 cents per trip. 
If the Governor had signed that unsatisfactory and 
unjust bill — urjust to the employe and not to the 
employer — the coni])any would have divided up 
the pay into trips, and have paid 40 cents per round 
trip. Three and a half round trips would con- 
sume the 12 hours to which a driver s work would 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. ib 

have been limited, and for this service he would 
have received only $1.40. 

To make his full $2.00 he would have had to 
work over-hours and must still liave mnde his five 
trips per day, occupying 16 hours and 40 minutes. 

More than that. In the winter, during the de- 
lay consequent to a severe snow-storm, wlien the 
round trip instead of taking 3 hours and 20 min- 
'kutes frequently occupies 5 hours, the drivers would 
have received no more than the 40 cents, and 
would have earned in 12 hours, for two and a half 
trips, only $1.00. Or if in ordinary times, through 
a large fire or any other cause, a driver who 
worked the old 17 hours in order to get as much 
as he now gets should miss a tiip, the air.ount for 
that trip would have heen deducted from his pay. 

The drivers and conductors ought to hold a mass- 
meeting to thank Gov. Cleveland for vetoing a bill 
so absni'd and so adverse to their interests. Dem- 
agogues may bluster and promise, but no legislative 
enactment has ever yet been invented that will 
secure a man fifteen hours' pay for eight hours' labor. 

At the close of the session he came for the first 
time in direct collision with the power of Tamman}^ 
He had made a number of appointments, chiefly 
affecting New York city, among them Commis- 
sioners of Emigration, Quarantine Conniiissioners, 
and Harbor Masters. These were not pleasing to 
Tammany, and were attacked especially b}^ Senator 
Grady. The Governor sent a communication to 
the Senate urging the importance of disposing of 
these appointments before the session closed, and 
reflecting indirectly on the motives of the opposi- 
tion. This drew from Grady a bitter tirade against 
the Governor, and the Legislature adjourned with- 



7d- STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

out a confirmation of the appointments. As the po- 
litical canvass a year later came on, Gov. Cleveland 
wrote a per;>onal letter to John Kelly, conveying 
to the Tammany '' boss" his wish that Grady 
should not be sent asrain to the Senate, rec()2:nizin^ 
the unquestionable fact that Kelly was the dis- 
penser of nominations in Tammany Hall, and 
placing his objection not only on the ground of 
his own comfort but of the public interest. These 
incidents sufficiently indicate the occasion of Tam- 
many's hostility to the Governor and of Grady's 
special hatred for him. 

It is but i^atural that Governor Cleveland by his 
fearless antagonism to corruption, favoritism and 
jobbery should incur the hostility of those whose 
foremost aim is office and plunder. Tammany, a 
powerful organization of the city of New York, 
had lost a good part of its intluence and its politi- 
cal prestige through the signing of different bills, 
which were passed by the New York Legislature 
to this very end, by Governor Cleveland. 

Thomas F. Grady, Boss Kelly's Tammany lieu- 
tenant, whom Kelly put up to denounce Governor 
Cleveland in the Chicago Convention, was a State 
Senator at Albany in 1882 and 1883. In the 
autumn of 1883 he was seeking a re-election when 
Governor Cleveland wrote the following private, 
personal letter upon the subject to Kelly : 

"Executive Chamber, Albany, Oct. 20th, 1883.— 
Hon. John Kelly — My Dear Sir: — It is not with- 
out hesitation that I write this. I have detennined 
to do so, however, because I see no reason why I 
should not be entirely frank with you. I am 
anxious that Mr. Grady should not be returned to 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 77 

the next Senate. I do not wish to conceal the fact 
that my personal comfort and satisfaction are in- 
volved in tliis matter. But I know tiiat good le<:is- 
lation, based upon a pure desire to promote the in- 
terests of the people and the improvement of 
legishitive methods, are also deeply involved. I 
forbear to write in detail of the other considera- 
tions having relation to the welfare of the party 
and the approval to be secured by a change for the 
better in the character of its representatives. 
Tliese things will occur to you without suggestion 
from me. Yours very truly, Gkuveu ClevelAxND." 

This letter Kelly caused to be published, together 
with a personal attack upon Governor Cleveland. 

On the afternoon of November 23d a correspond- 
ent of the Herald held an interview with the Gov- 
ernor on the subject, which was reported as 
follows : 

Governor Cleveland sat in his large revolving 
chair in the Executive Chamber this afternoon 
when the Herald correspondent called. The Gov- 
ernor was alone. He looks vigorous and buoyant. 
The Hancock standard of 250 pounds has evidently 
been lono; since reached. 

" That letter of yours to Mr. Kelly," said the 
correspondent, " has caused a good deal of talk." 

The heavy armchair was rolled a little nearer 
the interviewer and the Governor's lips were com- 
pressed. 

^' Indeed ? Well, I suppose so," he answered. 

^^Why?" 

*' That is for you to sa\'." 

*' I hold it was the proper thing, under the cir- 
cumstances, to send that letter." 



78 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

*^ You think Grady was not the proper represent- 
ative to send back to the Senate?" 

*'I do, most assuredly. His action in the Senate 
has been against the interests of the people and of 
good government, and his ready tongue gave him 
power to be of great aid to bad men. I believe 
that the Democratic party could not afford to in- 
dorse such a course, and that his rejection would 
be a great benefit to the party and to the people. 
What's the use of striving for the Senate, country 
Democrats argued, and have Grady holding tlu? 
balance of power to sell us out to the Republicans?" 

^'But about the letter, Governor?" 

The bin; arm-chair rolled closer still. '^ I sat 
down without the knowledge of any person and 
wrote to Kell}' — this man who had been assuring 
nie of his anxiety to give me aid in my work. [The 
Governor here raised his hand and forcibly slapped 
the desk in front of him.] I suggested, not for my 
personal comfort, which I did not deny would be 
subserved, but for the good of the public service, 
that he who had the power to say 'Go' or 'Come' 
should not force the nomination of Grady upon the 
Democrats of the State. No man ever acted with 
a more positive desire to serve the State than I did 
when I wrote that letter to a man claiming to be 
my friend. I suggested that he who had the power 
(everybody knowing that the people of the district 
had nothing to do with the nomination, and that 
but for Kelly's orders Grady could nut be nom- 
inated) should favor some better man for the 
en ate. 

" Did Mr. Kellv ever answer vour letter?" 

"No. If lic« had been what I took liim to be 
and he believed in Grady's nomination, he would 



STEPHEN GROTER CLEVELAND. 79 

have so written frankly in reply. He put the let- 
ter in his pocket, and, I understand, called in his 
district leaders in Grady's district and stated his 
purpose to nominate him. The responses under- 
stood to be from these leaders were that Grady 
could not be elected in his home district, wdiere Col. 
M. C. Murphy had been nominated in pursuance 
of an understanding; between all the orixanizations 
in the district. In violation of this understanding 
he sought to renominate Grady there. Then and 
not till then did Mr. Grady announce his retire- 
ment — a retirement which was forced by the fact 
that he knew he could not be elected. All this 
time my letter had been in Kelly's pocket." 

The strong arm here again fell on the executive 
desk. '* What then?" continued the Governor. 
" Mr. Kelly (whom many who opposed him in pol- 
itics believed to be a gentleman) takes this private, 
personal letter, written, as he knew, for his own 
eye only, to the New York World and requests its 
publication, together with a story that that letter 
prevented union nominations in New York and 
would make the Senate Republican. At the same 
time Mr. Kelly's newspaper was openly attacking 
and seeking the defeat of foiu' Democratic Senators 
outside of New York — Henry C. Nelson, James 
Mackin, John C. Jacobs, and John J. Kiernan — 
and one or more Democratic Assemblymen." 

" Then vou stronc^ly adhere to the conviction 
that this letter should have been written?" 

Governor Cleveland reddened to the eyebrows 
with determined emphasis of tone and manner. 

"" Most undoubtedly. The letter was, as every 
reader of it will acknowledge, written in the inter- 
ests of the people to better the representation in 



80 STLPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 

the Senate of this State. Its reception proved to 
me that the man who had been assuring me of his 
friendship was my enemy and that of the cause 
wliich I had espoused. It gave an opportunity for 
this enemy to openly and coarsely insult me as 
Governor of this State. To say that this letter 
should not have been written from one gentleman 
to another — the one anxious to better the public 
service and the other having it in his power to do 
it — is nonsense. To say that a man should go three 
hundred miles to say what he should not put on 
paper is the rankest kind of hypocrisy. This crit- 
icism can only be based upon tlie assumption that 
a man might say in conversing with another wdiat 
he might afterwards in policy find it convenient to 
deny when there was no positive corroborative ev- 
idence to be brought forward as to the facts. It is 
unfortunate for the Democratic party that this 
'boss' system exists. While it does exist it be- 
came a necessity — a disagreeable necessit}^, I as- 
sure you — for me to recognize it, and consequently 
to address that letter to Kelly. However, the time 
is fast approaching when this odious system will be 
swept away, and the voice of the people alone rec- 
ognized as potent in determining nominations to 
public office." 

''You have been attacked by several new\spapers 
on the ground of grave inconsistency in writing 
this letter?" 

The Governor laughed and the ponderous chair 
quivered. 

" Yes ; and it is almost anuising to note that 
some papers, in their efforts to convict me of ' in- 
consistency' as well as 'interference,' quote from 
my letter of acceptance condemning the interfer- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 81 

ence of the federal or State government with intent 
to thwart the will of the people. I stick to that 
sentiment yet. The trouble is (and here is the 
lamentable fact in the case) that it has an appli- 
cation to the state of affairs which the letter con- 
temphites. The will of the people had, I suppose, 
nothing to do with the nomination of Mr. Grady. 
It began and ended witli the will of Mr. Kelly, and 
his election after nomination depended upon the 
same power, bounded only by the trades and dick- 
ers that could be made with the so-called leaders 
and tlie freedom of the field from other candidates. 
This is not a condition consistent with true democ- 
racy, and it is not a condition most favorable to 
good government, but I had nothing to do with 
creating it. I merel}^ conceded it as I ibund it and 
wrote to the man who had the whole matter in his 
keeping, suggesting that he, for the good of the 
people and in the interests of the party, should 
exercise his power for good. If this be treason I 
can't see how I can escape its consequences. I have 
supposed that Mr. Grady was put in his old field 
because Mr. Campbell insisted on running in oppo- 
sition to him. Mr. Campbell's majority indicates 
that the people were quite willing to vote for some- 
body besides Grady." 

The forcible, determined face relaxed as the 
Governor rolled his chair back in front of the 
desk. 

" That is all I have to say or will say," he con- 
cluded, '' to anybody on this topic. I have done 
with it." 

Judge-Advocate H. C. King, of Brooklyn, said 
recentl}^, among other things : 

" The Tammany opposition to Governor Cleve- 

F 



82 STEPnEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

land is personal in its character, as is that of all 
the prominent Democrats who are talking as loudly 
against him. Mr. Kelly was disappointed in some 
of the Governor's appointments, but neither he nor 
the men who opposed him have a word to say 
against the excellence of his appointments or the 
purity of his administration. Governor Clevehmd 
aims to do right, and as there are not enough of- 
fices for every Democrat in the State, he natuially 
makes enemies." 

" But what about the opposition of the labor or- 
ganizations?" 

" Well, that is greatly exaggerated. There is no 
combined opposition, and every attempt to get up 
one has been a failure. I was in Buffalo on Wed- 
nesday last. Great efforts had been made to get 
up a labor mass-meeting against him. There were 
less than 300 persons present, and no man of promi- 
nence could be induced to address the meeting. It 
was a melancholy fizzle. The Governor sprang 
from lowly condition, has been a workingman all 
his life, and is thoroughly in sympathy \vith the 
masses. I walked up Main street with him on 
Saturday, and he was contiimally stopped by peo- 
ple in all walks of life, and was greeted with a cor- 
diality such as I have seldom witnessed." 

" The story is told here that he has alienated the 
Catholics by some action of his." 

*' This is news to me. There is no truth in it. 
I have heard more falsehoods since I came here 
than could be answered in the colunms of the Ikr- 
aid, some of them so vile in character that no one 
can be found to father them." 

" llovv do you account for the opposition of the 
New York Sun r' 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 83 

" That is easy to answer. I am the unfortunate 
originator of the somersault of the Sun. Mr. Dana 
was one of Governor Clevehand's most cordial sup- 
porters before the election, but as soon as his staff 
appointments were announced he commenced to 
criticise and to deprecate. A Brooklyn paper in- 
timated that Mr. Dana had been disappointed in 
something. Then in a fit of what struck newspa- 
per men as little short of weakness Mr. Dana in an 
editorial stated that he requested the Governor to 
appoint Franklin Bartlett, a young lawyer, and son 
of Dana's former associate, W. 0. Bartlett, to the 
position he had given to me. Mr. Bartlett was a 
clever young man, but he had no experience in 
military matters or military law. As a matter of 
fact the Governor never made any promise to Mr. 
Dana, but the break was made nevertheless, and 
from that time until now he has endeavored to be- 
little him. It is the old story. The men who can- 
not use Governor Cleveland are the only ones who 
abuse him. Governor Cleveland has the confidence 
and support of all people, Democrats and Republi- 
cans alike, who are in favor of pure government. 
He is an ideal Democrat, and can carry New York 
by an overwhelming majority.'* 



CHAPTER lY. 

THE ADMINISTRATION AND PRIVATE LIFE OF GOT- 
ERNOR GROVER CLEVELAND. 

His Moral CourwAOE— His Close Attention to Duty- 
Early AND Late Hours— His Views on Civil Service 
Reform— Governor Cleveland as a Baurister and 
Public Speaker — His Strong Conservatism, and his 
Exemplary Character— How he Looks— Anybody Ad- 
mitted AT once, who wishes TO SEE HIM— IIe IS NOT 

Wealthy, and a Bachelor. 

The administration of Grover Cleveland as Gov- 
ernor has been highly satisfactory and fully in 
accordance with his views expressed in his letter 
accepting the nomination. All the appointments 
to office which he has made bear the stamp of that 
high, conscientious spirit which has always actu- 
ated him. His industry is beyond all question. 
Never lias there been a man less approachable by 
politicians in quest of fat offices. His moral cour- 
age is great, as witness his veto of the Five-Cent 
Fare bill, which he treated regardless of the shower 
of abuse which he knew to be coming. Many of 
his other vetoes have been singularly objectionable 
to New York ward politicians. Many of the bills 
he has signed have had a like effect. For instance, 
those curtailing the emoluments of the county 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 85 

clerk, of the register and of the sheriff. If he is 
re-elected President he may be expected to follow in 
the path of political rectitude which has always 
distinguished him, and he will be opposed by none 
but the schemers and tricksters of his party. 

The same qualities and their practical illustra- 
tion in the Buffalo Mayoralty led to Mr. Cleve- 
land's nomination for Governor of the State with- 
out any seeking of his own, and the same popular 
confidence elicited by such qualities was displayed 
in the State canvass of 1882. In the oflice of 
Governor of the largest and richest State of the 
Union Mr. Cleveland has risen to the full measure 
of its requirement's in administrative capacity, and 
has maintained — under the full pressure of partisan 
schemers and self-seekers — his exalted views of 
public duties, his integrity of action, and his un- 
flinching independence and courage. This it is 
that attracted so many eyes to him at the juncture 
in 1884 as the fittest man for the Presidencv, al- 
though he had never taken a conspicuous part in 
party councils, and had never been associated with 
official life at the capital of the Union. 

Because Governor Cleveland took no active part 
in politics until recentlj^ the conclusion must not 
be jumped at that he came into office a mere tyro. 
He was little accustomed to making speeches and 
writing letters on public questions, but when he 
began it was with some purpose. Appreciation of 
the business side of office and politics has been a 



86 STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 

marked feature of his utterances. In his inau- 
gural address as Mayor of Buffalo he said : 

We hold the money of the people in our hands 
to be used for their purposes and to further their 
interests as members of the municipality, and it is 
quite apparent that when any part of the funds 
which the tax-payers iiave intrusted to us are 
diverted to other purposes, or when by design or 
neglect we allow a greater sum to be applied to any 
municipal purpose than is necessary, we have, to 
that extent, violated our duty. There surely is no 
difference in his duties and obligations whether a 
person is intrusted with the money of one man or 
of many, and yet it sometime^s appears as though 
the office-holder assumes that a different rule of 
fidelity prevails between him and the tax-payer 
than that which should regulate his conduct when, 
as an individual, he holds the money of his neigh- 
bors. It seems to me that a successful and faithful 
ministration of the governtnent of our city may be 
accomplished by constantly bearing in mind that 
we are the trustees and agents of our fellow-citizens, 
liolding their funds in sacred trust to be expended 
for their benefit, that we should at all times be 
prepared to render an honest account to them 
touching the manner of its expenditure, and that 
the affairs of the city should be conducted as far 
as possible upon the same principles as a good 
business man manages his private concerns. 

His views on civil service reform and on the 
dangers of bribery were thus elaborated in his 
letter accepting the nomination for Governor : 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 87 

Subordinates in public place should be selected 
and retained for their efficiency, and not because 
they may be used to accomplish partisan ends. 
The people have a right to demand here, as in 
cases of private employment, that their money be 
paid to those who will render the best service in 
return, and that the appointment to and tenure of 
such places should depend upon abilit}^ and merit. 
If the clerks and assistants in public departments 
were paid the same compensation and n quired to 
. do the same amount of work as those employed in 
prudently conducted private establishments, the 
anxiety to hold these public places would be much 
diminished and the cause of civil service reform 
materially aided. 

The expenditure of money to influence the action 
of the people at the polls or to secure legislation is 
calculated to excite the gravest concern. When 
this pernicious agency is successfully employed, a 
representative form of government becomes a sham, 
and laws passed under its baleful influence cease 
to protect, but are made the means by which the 
rights of the people are sacrificed and the public 
treasury despoiled. It is useless and foolish to 
shut our eyes to the fact that this evil exists 
among us, and the party which leads in an honest 
effort to return to better and purer methods will 
receive the confidence of our citizens and secure 
their support. It is wilful blindness not to see 
that the people care but little for party obligations, 
when they are invoked to countenance and sustain 
fraudulent and corrupt practices. And it is well for 
our country and for the purification of politics that 
the people, at times fully roused to danger, remind 
their leaders that party methods should be some- 



88 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

thing more than a means used to answer the 
purposes of those who profit bj political occupation. 

Mr. Cleveland's rank at the bar is a high one. 
He is careful and methodical as a business man, 
which, united to his iliculty of going to the bot- 
tom of all questions, gives him the principal ele- 
ments essential to success in his profession. He 
presents his case w^ell and closely, whether the 
argument is made before a court or a jury, but 
does not indulge in any exhibition of pyrotechnics. 
His vocabulary is ample but not overwhelming or 
exhaustive, as is so often the case with professional 
legal talkers. He is a hard worker, and a large, 
reliable and commanding practice is his reward. 

Mr. Cleveland's strength as a candidate is due 
to his strong conservatism, his unsullied character, 
his sympathy with straightforward, business meth- 
ods in politics, his exceptional standing with the 
independent, reform element the country over, and 
in his ability to inspire people with the belief that 
he may be trusted to do nothing for purely partisan 
purposes. Few men unite in themselves so many 
considerations of fitness and expediency. Invaria- 
bly he may be trusted to expose jobs, turn out and 
keep out thieves, and give the country a manly, 
conservative administration of his own. 

HOW HE LOOKS. 

Governor Cleveland has a vigorous, i-ooust con- 
stitution. He possesses a large frame and is in- 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 89 

clined to corpulency. His face no less than his 
figure and action indicates strenuous vital force, 
and that admirable co-ordination of faculties which 
is best expressed in the phrase " a cool head." 
Those traits, which are in part the result of early 
and constant self-training, have given him the air 
of conscious and quiet power, which belongs only 
to the triumphant antagonist in the world's fight. 
His figure betokens herculean strength, massive- 
ness, and there is in the smoothly shaven face the 
same token of solidity of character, with the sug- 
gestion of physical vigor in the soft brown mous- 
tache, that strongly contrasts with the scantiness 
of hair on his head. There is a slight tendency 
to corpulency, as is usually the case in vital tem- 
peraments, and a double chin is beginning to hang 
down over the simple white necktie. There is 
nothing phlegmatic in the man's manner. His 
face lights up with a sympathetic smile, and he is 
at once interesting, unaffected and intensely real. 
He is a man of the people. 

A near and close friend of Governor Cleveland, 
on the second day succeeding the Convention, 
wrote from Buffalo as follows : 

" The home-friends and neighbors of Grover 
Cleveland are to-night celebrating his nomination 
for the Presidency. They are making a great 
demonstration. The city is red with the glare and 
noise of fireworks. Great crowds are on the streets 
and an almost endless procession, with banners 



90 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

and music, is parading all the principal thorough- 
fares. In an ordinary way the place is literally 
being painted red. Men of both parties are en- 
gaged in it, for here, where people know him best, 
I find that the Democratic Presidential nominee is 
held in high esteem by all ch\sses. He seems to 
have led a phain, upright life, always marked with 
good judgment, kindness, great decision of charac- 
ter and sterling honesty. 

"It is nearly always an easy matter to trace a 
man's career wliere nearly every one you meet 
knows all about his incomings and outgoings. Here 
the policeman on the corner was appointed by 
him when Mayor. Further up the street the law- 
yers, doctors, preachers and tradesmen speak of 
liim as^Cleve' or * Grove.' All say to his credit 
that his phenomenal advance in public favor has 
not changed him a whit; that he is still the same 
quiet, unassuming citizen now as when he was a 
lawyer seeking clients. The old uncle, L. F. Allen, 
who gave him good advice, but very little else, when 
he reached here some thirty years ago on his way 
to Cleveland, Ohio, still lives here and is now past 
fourscore years. He persuaded his nephew to stop 
at this point and helped him to get a chance to 
study law by working mighty hard for it. He is 
an eccentric man, of strict business habits, and 
doesn't seem to take much interest in politics. He 
really knows less of the life of his relative than 
almost any man of repute you meet 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 91 

" Grover Cleveland came of a somewhat singular 
family. All his ancestors were men of ability, but 
they were always poor. The city is full of remi- 
niscences of his life. Ever since his residence in 
Buffalo he has lived with his law books and in his 
profession. Although he is reputed to be a good, 
genial companion, fond of life and the world, he 
has shunned society and lived for his mother and 
sisters, who needed his help. Probably more 
preachers were reared out of his family than any 
other in the country. They all taught the doc- 
trines of the Church for a small price and died 
poor. Mr. Cleveland's father left some ten children, 
about his only available assets when he died. 
Hence it went out that Grover Cleveland was to( 
poor to marry until so well grounded in his bach- 
elor ways that he could not be tempted from them 
by the comeliest girl in the land. It is true that 
he was and still is poor. It was not until a few 
years ago that he felt able to pay back the money 
he borrowed to bring him West in 1855. He only 
got his legal education by a pretty tough fight with 
adversity and it took him four years of drudgery 
in the office of Rogers & Bowen before he was ad- 
mitted to practice. 

" I went into the spacious offices this morning, 
but not one of the old firm was there. Only one 
is alive and he is in Europe. Mr. Cleveland's 
career as a lawyer is well defined in this region 
and his reputation well established. Mr. Mil- 



92 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

burn, a bright young man, now a partner in the 
law-firm where the present Governor studied, said 
to me this morning : 

" * Governor Cleveland is the strongest character 
I ever knew. He is a fine lawyer. He is incapa- 
ble of wilful wrong, and nothing on earth could 
swerve him from his conviction of duty. That he 
is thoroughly honest cannot be questioned, and he 
has always been regarded as an able and safe man 
in every relation of life.' 

"This terse summing up of the nominee's posi- 
tion at home is simply duplicated by the judges 
and lawyers with whom he has mingled. Among 
the laymen he seems to stand equally high. Re- 
publicans and Democrats alike speak of him as a 
man of the strongest chara(;ter and highest attain- 
ments. Mr. James N. Matthews, who edits the 
Express, the leading Republican paper of the city 
of Buffalo, speaks for this sentiment as follows : 

"'I know of no Democrat better equipped for the 
position for which he has been named than Grover 
Cleveland. He is an able, honest and incorruptible 
man. He is self-reliant and has excellent judgment. 
When people speak of him as an obscure man it is 
but fiiir to say that he has long stood in the front 
rank with the very leaders of thought and action 
in this part of New York.' 

"Grover Cleveland's habits of life seem to have 
been as simple as the general conduct of the man 
has been unassuming. He dwelt in a quiet board- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 93 

3ng-house, and when its mistress got a well-to-do 
son-in-law and quit business he used to take his 
Sunday morning breakfast at the Terrapin Lunch, 
a plain restaurant, where probably a terrapin was 
never seen. Old Major Randall, of the Lake Shore 
Railroad, was his companion. He died soon after 
Cleveland was made Governor. It was his oft-ex- 
pressed ambition to live to see 'Grove,' as he called 
him, President. In 1863 he became Assistant Dis- 
trict Attorney and carried the burden of the office 
for three years, to be beaten for District Attorney 
at the close of his term by Lyman K. Bass, his 
nearest friend. They afterward became law-part- 
ners. Pie was made Sheriff of this county by an 
accident. In fact, he never had an office tliat he 
was not forced into. In 1869 David Williams, 
superintendent of the Lake Shore Railroad, wanted 
to run for Cono^ress. This district was close and 
he wouldn't make the effort with any of the aspir- 
ants for the Sheriffiilty. It was the most important 
office to be filled and there was a bitter contest for 
it. The leaders got together and decided that Cleve- 
land must run to help Williams. There wasn't much 
chance of an election, but they insisted that he must 
make the sacrifice for the party. He was then re- 
garded as a good lawyer, with a good practice. He 
became the candidate and not only helped Williams, 
but squeezed in by a few hundred votes. Daring hia 
term as Sheriff the office wis well administered. 
and when the term was finished Mr. Cleveland 
went back to his law business. 



94 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

" The fees of the Sheriff's office gave him his first 
financial start. He then made money at the law 
and saved something. His reputation is not that 
of a money-getter and money-saver. Had he been 
ambitious in this direction he could and would have 
been a rich man. In 1881 he was forced to be a 
candidate for Mayor. A popular revolt against the 
methods that were robbing the city swept him into 
this office. The Council was against him, but he 
vetoed every obnoxious measure it passed and his 
assaults upon the Aldermen were so vigorous that 
they did not dare to pass them over his objections. 

** Here his veto of the street-cleaning job is re- 
garded as the real beginning of his public career. 
Soon after he came into office the Council voted to 
award the street-cleaning contract for five years to 
George Talbot, a local politician of power at $422,- 
500 a year. There were several lower bids by 
tlioroughly responsible men. Mayor Cleveland 
vetoed the award and severely condemned the 
attempted waste of the people's money. The con- 
tract was subsequently awarded to the lowest bid- 
der, at $109,000. The amount saved on this and 
an item for a sewer during the first six months of 
his administration was nearly $1,000,000. Tliese 
acts brought him into prominence and started him 
towards his [)resent place. It was on account of 
his fearless fight in spite of large odds against pub- 
lic plunderers that he was pushed and elected by 
these people Governor. It is because they know 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. * 95 

hini to be perfectly honest and incorruptible that 
to-night iui men, regardless of differing political 
affiliations^ are rejoicing over his successes. Though 
his law-office and his bachelor quarters over there 
are silent, both are saluted as tiie abode of a man 
who has done well on a small beginning. If the 
record of his life is soon told, his own people point 
to it with pride and go bond to the country that he 
will do even better in the future. This is the tenor 
of all the speeches and of th^' talk of the people." 

A well-known author, who paid a visit to Al- 
bany, wrote about the executive mansion, the 
former home of Governor Cleveland, as follows : 
" Passing through Albany a few days ago I thought 
I would stop over and call on the Governor, if only 
to contrast the executive mansion with those bach- 
elor quarters in Buffiilo. It was one of those blis- 
tering hot days when Albany is indeed a city set 
upon a hill, and the new capitol looks from far up 
and down the river like the proverbial bushel that 
had been put over its light like an extinguisher. 

" There are no coupes in Albany, and the cur- 
rent convenience of cabs is unknown. Public con- 
venience is provided in the shape of open barouches, 
in which the modest author in search of informa- 
tion feels like a grand marshal on St. Patrick's 
Day and looks like an invited guest returning 
from a funeral. There was nothing to do in the 
dead heat of a sultry evening but to climb the hill 
^r get into one of these chariots, and so I was 



96 STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 

whisked up to the executive mansion in a vehicle 
that I felt was much too big for my mission.. I 
say ^ whisked,' because the drivers have acquired 
the habit of going to the Governor's house as if it 
were a matter of life and death. When you tell 
them to drive 30U to the executive mansion they 
take you sunnnarily in from tile to toe-nails, and 
make up their minds with lightning speed whether 
it is a pardon or an appointment that you are after, 
neither of which will wait. Sweeping thus grandi- 
osely into the Governor's grounds, up and around 
the house to the front entrance, 1 found the front 
doors swing open as I mounted the steps as if I 
were an aide-de-camp bringing the late of a com- 
monwealth in my despatches. A young man wear- 
ing a smile stood in the broad entrance. When I 
said T desired to see the Governor he invited me to 
walk *right in,' and a moment after I traversed the 
broad, and, as we used to say, ^manorial hall,' with 
its tlanking of old-fishioned saloon parlors, and snt 
down in a great air}*, hushed, and shadowy recep- 
tion-room. Nothing that I could see had changed 
since I was last in the place. There hung the 
great photograph of St. Peter's at Rome ; there 
were the same bronzes and book-cases. The win- 
dows were open, and through them came the muf- 
fled stir of the city and the sharp twittering of the 
swallows in the trees outside. It was a drowsy, 
vacant place. I looked up and down the long 
rooms and passed out in the great hall. Not a 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 97 

soul was visible. The warm summer draught 
swept across the great space. A beetle blundered 
in and struck the globe on the chandelier, and it 
gave out a sound like a far-away bell. I was sud- 
denly convinced of the absurdity of dashing up to 
such a place in a flaming chariot. I wislied I had 
come afoot and made my entrance softly and dec- 
orously. Presently a young man appeared at one 
of the open doors and said, ' Will you walk up- 
stairs?' In the upper hallway, which, on account 
of its coolness, had been extemporized into an of- 
fice, sat the Governor in a large arm-chair before a 
table which was covered with telegrams and letters. 
As I appeared at the entrance he said, in a hearty 
and inviting voice, 'Come right in.' 

" Since Governor Cleveland came into office he 
has not been absent from his desk more than three 
weeks. His official life is monotonous. He reaches 
his office shortly after eight in the morning, opens 
his private letters, and at nine is ready to receive 
callers, many of whom are members of the Legis- 
lature, who come to explain the nature of their 
bills; therefore there is no lack of callers. In turn 
or in delegations he receives them, and this is kept 
up without interruption till one, when he goes to 
dinner. He takes an hour for dinner and to walk 
to and from his residence. By two he is surely in 
his office to see his callers. These he receives 
until long after six. Then he goes to tea, and at 
half-past seven is back in his office, when he locks 

G 



98 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

himself up to examine bills. After the Legislature 
adjourns he has more leisure. Men having busi- 
ness with him have learned his methods. They 
know he means what he sajs. Upon his words 
confidence and reliance can be placed, no matter 
how important or trivial the subject. Inquirers 
are pretty apt to quickly ascertain his views. He 
has that extremely rare faculty of reaching safe 
conclusions after a few moments' study. He is a 
man who seldom loses his temper unless persist- 
ently vexed by men who seek to argue him out 
of what he expresses and believes to be a safe and 
wise decision. He impresses men with his frank- 
ness and explicit manners, and visitors depart sat- 
isfied with the verdict. They quickly recognize 
the fact that his conclusions are reached from in- 
born conscientious motives. He is not swerved 
one jot or tittle by party or personal friendship to 
do what he thinks is not right. Hence his par- 
dons and his vetoes show that they have been dic- 
tated by sound common sense." 

Governor Cleveland has a viirorous, robust con- 
stitution. He possesses a large frame, is inclined 
to corpulency, has a nervous, sanguine tempera- 
ment, light complexion, thin brown hair, with a 
tendency to baldness, and his general make-up is 
what ladies would properly decide to be good-look- 
ing. 

All the traits of assiduous industry, unostenta- 
tious dignity, thoroughness and simplicity noted iu 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 99 

Grover Cleveland's early career are observable in 
his present e very-day life. On the day before his 
inauguration as Governor he came down from Buf- 
falo quietly with his law-partner, Mr. Bissell, went 
to the executive mansion, and spent the night. On 
the morrow the city was excited with the approach- 
ing ceremonies. The streets were crowded, but 
there was to be no military parade, no procession. 
The Governor-elect walked from the executive man- 
sion in company with his friend to the capitol, 
joining the throngs that were going that way. 
He entered the building unrecognized, but quite 
at his ease, sauntered up to the executive cham- 
ber, and was there met by Governor Cornell. The 
moment the inaugural ceremony was over lie passed 
into the spacious executive chamber which is set 
apart for his use, ordered that the doors should 
be opened to admit everybody having business 
with him, and went immediately to work. Never 
was any important public event so completely 
stripped of its fuss and feathers; never was a more 
radical change effected in the official routine of the 
executive department. Hitherto there were all 
sorts of delays and impediments in the path to 
the Governor. Cards had to be sent in, ushers 
conducted citizens into ante-rooms and left them 
w\niting for hours to see the Governor; but the 
moment Grover Cleveland took possession he issued 
an order to admit anybody at once who wished to 
see him. Up to the present time he has been quite 
L.cfC. 



100 STEPHEN GUOVER CLEVELAND. 

able himself to prevent this return to Democratic 
simplicity from being abused. 

While Governor, Mr. Cleveland shook hands with 
many people every day. Formerly the visitors to 
the great Capitol building asked to be shown the 
Senate Chamber, the Assembly Hall and the 
pictures : then they asked to see the big Governor. 
He treated them all alike. Shaking hands may 
make his hands sore, but it will never throw him 
off his guard. One would think a Presidential 
nomination would agitate a man somewhat, but 
the Governor simply said, " Go over and tell 
sister. She will be glad to hear it." 

A correspondent thus writes : I should say he 
would have made a good surgeon, for he could cut 
a leg off and never flinch. He might sympathize 
very deeply with the unfortunate victim, for he 
has a warm heart, but if he thought his leg ought 
to be cut off it would have to come. What he 
thinks is ri2:ht to be done he does with all the 
earnestness of a very strong nature. Of dissinmla- 
tion he has none. I saw a workingman in his 
shirt-sleeves rush in to shake hands with him the 
other day, and a little later a United States 
Senator arrived to offer his congratulations, but I 
could not see that the Governor "shifted his 
position " in the least. He was the embodiment 
of simplicity towards both. He is a man you will 
iind the same on Tuesday he was on Monday, and 
the same on Wednesday he was on Tuesday. 



STEPHEN GnOVER CLEVELAND. 101 

Easy enough to approach at any time when he 
has not something he thinks is more important to 
do than to talk to you, otherwise he shuts up 
very close. In some important methods of life he 
lias not got very far away from the primary 
simplicity of childhood. And here comes in an 
anecdote I heard of him. The crier in one of the 
courts of Albany is a blind man, who lives in the 
same part of the city as, the Governor. He is 
somewhat aged and has become so familiar with 
the road from his home over to the Court-House 
that he generally goes alone. But one morning, 
some months asro, he missed his wav and the 
Governor coming along took him by the arm and 
brought him along with him as far as the Capitol 
building. As they were about to separate, the 
old gentleman asked the name of his considerate 
guide. 

" My name is Cleveland," said the Governor. 

"Are you in business in the city?" 

"Yes. I have an office up here in the Capitol." 

" Oh, you are not the Governor ? " 

" Yes. I am the Governor." 

The poor old fellow was almost beside himself, 
and went on his way with a story to tell as long as 
he lived. 

One morning after the Governor's nomination 
for President, as he was walking over from the 
Executive residence to the Capitol, he again found 
the old Court crier astray from his familiar path 



102 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

and again took him by the arm and helped him 
along as far as they went the same way. As they 
walked the old gentleman proceeded to tell of 
another time when he had got lost and how a 
kind-hearted man helped him out of his difficulty 
and how that kind-hearted man turned out to be 
Governor Cleveland. '' Well, you have encoun- 
tered the Governor again," was the quiet response. 
And then the poor old crier was almost beside 
himself He had been escorted by a good 
Samaritan who might be the President of the 
United States. At least two stories and a man- 
sard roof had been added to the good story he 
already had to tell, and again he went on his way 
rejoicing. 

The Governor is full of the milk of human kind- 
ness and his heart is h'vj: enouc:li to take in all 
mankind. At once you see he has a most be- 
nignant face and can talk to you like a father. 
The pictures of him do not give his face as it is 
generally seen. He sometimes looks serious, but 
never cross or even austere. As soon as vou see 
him you feel that you need not have any trepida- 
tion in speaking to him. Sometimes public men 
have a Avay of making everybody who attempt to 
come near them get down and crawl in the dust of 
humiliation, as if it was one of the gods of Bundcl- 
cund about to be approached, but not so with our 
big Governor of the big State of New York, and 
our big Presidential nominee of the big Democratic 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 103 

party. If he ever gets to the White House all the 
sisters will feel like he is their brother, all the 
cousins will feel like he is their cousin, and all the 
aunts will feel like he is their nephew. When he 
sits down there is not much room left between the 
arms of a pretty wide chair and he looks wonder- 
fully comfortable and homelike. The other day 
when there were three or four gentlemen callers 
sitting or walking about in the Executive office, a 
bunch of countrywomen dropped in on their sight- 
seeing tour. After gazing about in some perplex- 
ity, as if they were looking for something the}^ 
could not find to their entire satisfaction, the 
eldest and the supposable head of the party, 
ventured up to the Governor as the most ap- 
proachable man she saw, and ventured to ask, 
*' Which might be the Governor?" " Right here," 
said he, as he thumped himself on the bosom and 
went on with the business in hand. ''Oh!" the 
lady ejaculated, and retired amid her blushes to 
the expectant group in the corner and then they 
all looked over and said, " oh ! " in chorus. 

When the Governor gets well settled in his 
chair, takes a good long breath and adjusts his 
glasses on the lower part of his nose, he looks as 
wise, as mellow and as sunshiny as Benjamin 
Franklin. He looks as though it would take a 
very considerable shock to knock him off his 
balance. I asked him the other day if he read the 
papers that abused him. 



104 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAKl?. 

" Sometimes/' »aid he^ with a smile that broke 
out all over his face. 

" Do you ever get disturbed over anything they 
Bay ? " 

" Not much. Every man has a right to enjoy 
his own mind. I remember an old fellow who was 
a neighbor of my father and we would sometimes 
try to get him to come over to our church. He 
was a strong Baptivst, and he would always say : 
* No, you folks are Presbyterians, and if I go over 
to your church I couldn't enjoy my mind.' Of 
course, that was the end of the argument." 

" What is the most annoying slander they have 
ever published about you, Governor?" 

" Well, I have been more surprised (and then he 
did twist just a little in his chair) at the way I 
have been misrepresented as to the laboring men 
than anything else. I don't see how the idea ever 
got out in the first place that I have been opposed 
to the interests of laborini]^ men. I cannot re- 
member one single act in my life that could be 
reasonably construed into anything that was 
against their best interests. It has been just the 
other way with me. I have always taken particular 
pains, whenever it was in my power, to see their 
interests well guarded. I liave observed that labor- 
ing men have minds of tlieir own as well as politi- 
cal principles, and when there has been a full in- 
vestigation of my official life the f\icts will be made 
known, and I am not uneasy as to the result. They 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 105 

talk about the workingmen, said Governor Cleve- 
land, as if tliej were a lot of sheep to be cor- 
railed or scattered by this man or that. Most 
workingmen are naturally Democrats. Democracy 
means the rule of the people, and the Democratic 
party has always been the natural friend of the 
workingmen. I do not think any great number of 
those who are in my party will fail to vote forme, 
first, because they are naturally disposed to go with 
their party, and second, because they will learn 
long before election day tliat my attitude towards 
them has been misrepresented." 

The Governor had grown serious enough to lay 
his glasses on the desk and wipe his face with an 
immense white handkerchief. 

Last winter Governor Cleveland, having reason 
to believe that public money had been wasted or 
misappropriated in the repair of the arsenals and 
armories of this State, had an examination made, 
which confirmed his suspicions. At his request the 
Assembly appointed a special committee to investi- 
gate the matter. This committee filed its report 
at Albany yesterday. It finds that a systematic 
course of swindlins: has been sroinc^on for a number 
of years in the making of these repairs. The work 
was done, and in many cases very badly done, by 
favored contractors, to whom most extravagant 
prices were paid. 

Among other gentlemen, Daniel Dougherty, the 
silvery tongued orator of Philadelphia, who nomi- 



106 STEPHEN* GROVER CLEVELAND. 

nated General Hancock for the Presidency at Cin- 
cinnati in 1880, shortly after the last Convention 
paid a visit to Governor Cleveland which he de- 
scribed to a reporter as follows : 

" I saw the Governor," said Mr. Dougherty, "for 
the first time in my life, and I was perfectly 
charmed by his frank manner and dignified bear- 
ing. At Chicago I was not at the outset one of 
his adherents. But my meeting with the Gov- 
ernor and the conversation I had with him have 
convinced pie that his is the best nomination we 
could have made. He is a man of comprehensive 
mind, of broad statesmanship, of free and inde- 
pendent views — a man who, while conserving all 
the interests of the Democratic party to which he 
will owe his election, will nevertheless be President 
of the whole countiy. All his official acts will be 
for the benefit of the whole people. That is the 
sort of President we want." 

*"• What was the nature of your conversation 
with Governor Cleveland ?" 

" Oh, it was purely informal. He spoke about 
general political questions without any personal 
reference to himself The rights and obligations 
of corporations and the toleration due to all forms 
of religious beliefs were freely discussed. From 
the tone of the conversation I am positive that 
while Governor Cleveland as President will adhere 
most rigidly to the vested rights of corporations he 
will never be their servant or their slave. His 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 107 

very veto of the Five-cent Elevated Railroad Faro 
bill, above all things, proves to me his fitness for 
the office for which he has been nominated. Were 
he a vile demagogue he could have bought cheap 
renown by signing that bill. But he was influenced 
by what he considered to be strong constitutional 
objections of the bill, and he showed that he had 
the courage of his convictions. The same is true 
of his veto of the bill which seems to have aroused 
some opposition to him on the part of the Catholics. 
I have the personal assurance of such eminent 
men of that faith as Henry L. Hoguet, the Presi- 
dent of the Immigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 
and ex-Senator Francis Kernan, that Governor 
Cleveland is free from all prejudice against the 
Catholics. We Catholics do not expect a President 
to violate any constitutional claims to oblige us, 
and we would be unworthy of our faith if we asked 
for any favors not consistent with constitutional 
obligations." 

" Did Governor Cleveland express himself as re- 
gards the laboring classes?" 

" There was no direct allusion to that effect in 
my conversation with him, but the laboring ele- 
ment can rely with greater security on the advocacy 
of their rights by a man like Cleveland and a great 
organization like the Democratic party than on the 
sudden devotion to their interests of any dema- 
gogue aspiring to national place. The coming 
campaign may be likened to tlie one when Abraham 



108 STEPHEN GROVER CLEYELAND. 

Lincoln w.is first nominated. Mr. Lincoln was 
then not so well known as Mr. Cleveland is, and I 
think that Cleveland will be a Godsend to reform 
in the Republic as Lincoln was in crushing re- 
bellion." 

" Ls Mr. Hendricks' nomination equally accep- 
table to you ? " 

" Equally so. The scene in the Convention 
when his name was mentioned is incomparable. 
There was nothing in the world like it. If it had 
been the result of a speech, it would have been the 
grandest triumph to oratory. It was started by the 
announcement of a single vote for Hendricks. 
During the half hour that the cyclone of enthusiasm 
rag^d it must have produced the most exquisite 
sensations to Mr. Hendricks, who was present. 
It seemed to me to be the climax of the arcrument 
against the fraud of 1876. If Tilden was out of 
the way here was the man to vindicate the wrong. 
I thought Cleveland's forces would be scattered by 
the tremendous demonstration and Hendricks sure 
of the nomination, but there never was a body of 
delegates more splendidly disciplined than the 
friends of Cleveland. Undismayed by the cyclone, 
they nominated Cleveland, and with a master 
stroke of policy made the ticket Cleveland and 
Hendricks. This ticket will undoubtedly sweep 
the country." 

William A. Simmons, ex-collector of the Port of 
Boston, who was intimate with Butler, and was at 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 109 

one time his campaign manager, asserted publicly 
that the Massachusetts ex-Governor would most 
probably support Cleveland. If the support was 
hearty Massachusetts might be counted as a doubt- 
ful or a Democratic State. Indiana was certain for 
Cleveland. Nine-tenths of the Irish voters, he de- 
clared, would vote the straight Democratic ticket 
and Tammany Hall would help to swell Cleveland's 
majority. The questions of tarift' and reform were 
the issues of the campaign. Mr. Simmons himself 
left the Republican ranks highly indignant be^ 
cause of the corruption inside the party. 

An examination of Governor Cleveland's record 
showed the shallowness of the demagogic campaign 
lie started by the Blaine organs that the Demo- 
cratic candidate for the Presidency was not friendly 
to workingrnen. It showed, furthermore, that in his 
public utterances and his executive acts Mr. Cleve- 
land had always had a genuine sympathy with the 
laborins; classes and has ever been mindful of their 
best interests. 

The first expression of his views on this subject 
after his name became fiimiliar throughout the 
State was made in his letter accepting the nomi- 
nation for Governor. In this letter, dated October 
7, 1882, he said : 

" The laboring classes constitute the main part 
of our population. They should be protected in 
their efforts peaceably to assert their rights when 
endangered by aggregated capital^ and all statutes 



liO STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

on this subject should recognize the care of the 
State for honest toil and be framed with a view of 
improving the condition of the workingman." 

Tliere is no uncertain tone here, no lack of sym- 
pathy with the cause of honest labor. Mr. Cleve- 
land's record as Governor is entirely in keeping 
with these views. He has loyally adhered to them 
in the two messages which he has submitted to the 
Legislature, and with respect to everj^ bill, whether 
signed or vetoed, on which he has been called to 
act. 

Of the proposition to abolish contract labor in 
the State prisons Governor Cleveland said in his 
message January, 1884: ^' The subject should be 
approached with the utmost care and deliberation. 
J'he wages of the toorhinqman should not he injurl- 
ousJij (iffected hy the labor of convicts in the prisons'^ 
In the same document he renewed the earnest rec- 
ommendation which he had made in his first mes- 
sage that more stringent laws be passed for the pro- 
tection of depositors in savings banks. This rec- 
ommendation was advanced in behalf of the poorer 
classes and working people. 

The bill for the establishment of a Bureau of 
Labor Statistics was brought forward in the inter- 
est of the laboring classes. It received the cordial 
approval of Governor Cleveland and by his signa- 
ture became a law. The bill providing that when- 
ever any employer makes an assignment the wages 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. Ill 

of the employes shall be paid before any other 
claims was designed to secure simple justice and 
substantial benefits to the laboring class. It was 
promptly signed by Governor Cleveland. The 
passage of the Tenement House Cigar act was 
asked for by thousands of workingmen. It became 
a law by the approval of Governor Cleveland. 

Three vetoes have been cited by Governor Cleve- 
land's enemies in their attempt to prejudice the 
laborin2: classes aorainst him. Not one of these 
vetoes nor all of them together show the least lack 
of cordial sympathy on his part with the cause and 
interests of workingmen. The Five-Cent Fare bill, 
which he vetoed on constitutional grounds, w^as not 
intended to secure cheap fares for laboring men, nor 
would it have had that effect for the obvious reason 
that the fare was already five cents during the hours 
when ninety-five per cent, of the working people 
have to ride on the elevated roads. The foolish, 
demagogic bill to reduce the hours of drivers and 
conductors on horse cars was, as Governor Cleve- 
land rightly said, '^ not in the interest of the work- 
ingman." On the contrary, it would have operated 
against the welfare of the very men for whose bene- 
fit it was, with amazing shortsightedness, pretended 
to have been brought forward. A reduction of hours 
would inevitably have been attended with a corre- 
sponding reduction of the already scanty wages. 
The Mechanics' Lien Bill was vetoed for very good 
reasons, which had no bearing on the rights or in- 



112 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

terests of laborers, and laborers are as well off now 
as they would have been had the bill become a 
law. 

His course shows that he has been a staunch and 
consistent friend of the workingnian and completely 
disposes of the malicious assertions to the contrary 
made by his political opponents to influence un- 
thinking voters. 



CHAPTER Y. 

Governor Clevelandafter the Chicago Conventioh— 
How He Received the Kews of His Nomination— Con- 
gratulatory Telegrams from all Parts of the Coun- 
try—His First Speech after the Nomination— Gen- 
eral Enthusiasm— He Discharges the Business of His 
Office with the Usual Method and Care. 

The first intimation Governor Cleveland received 
was when, sitting in his private room in the Execu- 
tive Chamber of the capitol at Albany at work on 
routine business, he heard the boom of a cannon. 

Adjt.-Gen. Farnsworth was with him, and they 
were considering some matters concerning the State 
camp. Every other minute a blue-coated messenger 
interrupted the discussion with a bulletin of the 
voting^ at ChicaGfo received from the Assemblv tele- 
graph office. When the announcement of Penn- 
sylvania's change was read a few friends of the Gov- 
ernor, who had by this time dropped into the office, 
applauded vigorously. Still the Adjutant-General 
continued calling off the figures from the proof in 
his hand without watching to see if the Governor 
made corrections. At about a quarter to 2 o'clock 
Gen. Farnsworth first heard the cannon shot. He 
put up his hand and said, " Listen !" They listened. 
Then came another roar from the brass gun that 

K (113) 



114 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the YoiinGT Merrs Democratic Club had stationea 
at the foot of State street. Gen. Farnsvvorth 
jumped to his feet and said : 

'^ They are firing a salute, Governor, over your 
nomination." 

^' That's what it is/' said Col. Lamont. 

"Do you think so?" said the Governor. *^ Well 
anyhow, we'll finish up this work," and at it they 
went again. 

If any doubt remained as to what the booming 
of the cannon meant, it was soon dispelled by a 
telephone call which said : 

*' Tell the Governor he was nominated on the 
second ballot." 

Col. Lamont, the private secretary of the Gov- 
ernor, conveyed tlie news. The Governor smiled. 
He did not seem to be at all nervous or excited. 
Hand-shakings occurred, and the Governor said 
suddenly : 

" Lamont, I wish you would telephone that to 
the mansion. Sister w^ill want to hear it." 

The Governor, the Adjutant-General, and the 
private secretary retired to the chamber, the doors 
of which were thrown wide open. The Governor 
stood up and received the congratulations of the 
fifteen or twenty persons present. Then a stream 
of visitors canie pouring in. Crowds were seen 
converging toward the Capitol. Many were ladies. 
It was a cosmopolitan crowd. The stream of vis- 
itors continued for nearly two hours. The Gover- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 115 

nor had nothing to say beyond expressing his 
thanks to those who offered congratulations. 

Meanwhile congratulatory despatches began to 
arrive, and poured in until a bushel basket would 
not hold them. The first was from the Syracuse 
Democratic escort, received ten minutes after the 
news of the nomination. Among the telegrams re- 
ceived were the following : 

Columbus. 
1 congratulate you and our country. We are 
now firing one hundred guns. Ohio leads the 
column for your victory. Geo. Hoadly. 

Chicasro. 
My choice from the beginning for the Presidency. 
I congratulate you upon your unanimous nomina- 
tion to that great office. Texas w ill give you over 
100,000 majority. Kichard B. Hubbard. 

Jersey City. 
Accept congratulations. The Convention did 
the very best thing in your nomination. I am 
greatly pleased. J. D. Bedle. 

Orange, N. J. 
I heartily congratulate you upon your nomina- 
tion. Geo. B. McClellan. 

West Dublin, Pa. 
I send you my heartiest congratulations, and hope 
your majority in November ^yill be larger than your 
last. John O'Brien. 

Wilmington, Del. 
Accept my best wishes for your triumphant elec- 
tion, and assurance of my thorough and steadfast 
support in the canvas?^ Thomas F. Bayard. 



116 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Permit me to congratulate you on your nomi- 
nation for President of the United States. It in- 
sures success to the Democracy in November next. 

R. M. Bishop. 

Convention Hall, Chicago. 
Pennsylvania congratulates New York. 

W. U. Hensel, 
Chairman Pennsylvania State Committee. 

Boston. 
Your nomination is an endorsement of honest 
independence in public office. Accept my hearty 
congratulations. Leopold Morse. 

Chicago. 
On behalf of the youngest of the sisters — Colo- 
rado — I congratulate you and promise you her 
three electoral votes. T. 0. O'Donnell. 

Chicago. 
Glory, Hallelujah ! 

J. T. Campbell of Alabama. 

Chicago. 
You were triumphantly nominated on the second 
ballot. I congratulate the country and you. 

Francis Kernan. 

New York. 
I congratulate you upon your nomination, and 
confidently believe 30ur fellow-countrymen will 
ratify it in Noven)ber by an overwhelming majority. 

Samuel D. Babcock, 
Pres't Chamber of Commerce. 

San Francisco. 
California sends greeting, and will give 3-011 her 
electoral vote. Wm. D. English. 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 117 

In the evening a serenade was given to the 
Governor at the Executive Mansion by the Young 
Men's Democratic Club, who were joined by their 
invited guests, the Jacksonians. Thousands of 
citizens congregated in and about the Executive 
Mansion. The Tentli Regiment band pLayed sev- 
eral selections, after which the Governor appeared 
at the main portico. He was received with much 
enthusiasm. He spoke as follows : 

Fellow-Citizens : I cannot but be gratified with 
this kindly greeting. I find that I am fast reaching 
the point where I shall count tlie people of Albany 
not merelv as fellow-citizens, but as townsmen and 
neighbors. On this occasion I am, of course, aware 
that you pay no compliment to a citizen and pre- 
sent no personal tribute, but that you have come 
to demonstrate your loyalty and devotion to a 
cause in which you are heartily enlisted. The 
American people are about to exercise in its highest 
sense their power and right of sovereignty. They 
are to call in review before them their public ser- 
vants and the representation of political parties, 
and demand of them an account of their steward- 
ship. Parties may be so long in power, and may 
become so arrogant and careless of the interests of 
the people, as to grow heedless of their responsibil- 
ity to their masters. But the time comes as cer- 
tainly as death when the people weigh them in 
the balance. Tfie issues to be adjudicated by the 
nation's great assize are made up and are about to 
be submitted. We believe that the people are not 
receiving at the hands of the party which for nearly 



118 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

twenty-four years has directed the affairs of the 
nation the full benefits to which they are entitled 
— pure, just, and economical rule — and we believe 
that the ascendency of genuine Democratic prin- 
ciples will insure a better Government and greater 
happiness and prosperity to all the people. To 
reach the sober thought of the nation and to dis- 
lodge an enemy intrenched behind spoils and 
patronage involves a struggle which, if we under- 
estimate, we invite defeat. I am profoundly im- 
pressed with the responsibility of the part assigned 
to me in this contest. My heart, I know, is in the 
cause, and I pledge you that no effort of mine shall 
be wanting to secure the victory which I believe to 
be within the achievement of the Democratic hosts. 
Let us, then, enter upon the campaign now fairly 
opened, each one appreciating well the part he has 
to perform, ready with solid front to do battle for 
better government, confidently, courageously, al- 
ways honorably, and with a firm reliance upon 
the intelligence and patriotism of the American 
people. 

During the following days congratulations con- 
tinued to pour in from all parts of the country. 
On the day succeeding his nomination the Gov- 
ernor was at his desk in the executive chamber 
discharging the business of his office with his usual 
method and care. He was probably the most indus- 
trious and painstaking Governor the State of New 
York ever had. At the time of his nomination the 
records of his ofiice showed he had been absent 
from his post for less than a month in all. When 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 119 

in Albany .ilmost his entire time was spent in the 
Capitol or at the executive mansion. He kept no 
horses, and walked the short half mile from the 
house to the chamber three times a day. With 
few exceptions, his evenings were passed in work at 
the Capitol. Except when engaged in very im- 
portant matters, the rooms were open to all visitors, 
and tlie Governor was easdy accessible to any one 
who desired to see him. To the many who called 
on the day succeeding his nomination, it was evi- 
dent that the nomination of Governor Cleveland 
for President made little or no change in the rou- 
tine of his department. He was engaged in the 
perusal of official papers until late in the afternoon, 
stopping only at times to greet a caller or read the 
despatches handed him by Col. Lamont. Of the 
hundreds received the following are some of those 
of special significance : 

Governor Stoneman, of California, telegraphed: 

" The Democratic administration of the State of 
California tenders its congratulations on your 
nomination for President. You may confidently 
count upon the electoral vote of the State of Cali- 
fornia." 

Senator H. B. Payne, of Ohio, telegraphed : 

" Please accept my sincere and joyful congratu- 
lations." 

From Governor Bate, of Tennessee, came the 
message : 



120 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

"Accept my congratulation for your nomination, 
together with my hope and belief that you will be 
elected." 

Winslow Warren, Secretary pro tern, of the 
Massachusetts Reform Club, at its dinner at 
the Parker House, Boston, forwarded this des- 
patch : 

"The Massachusetts Reform Club, of Boston, 
consisting of Republicans, Democrats, and Inde- 
pendents, are rejoicing that you are selected to lend 
the opposition to Bhune. The club tenders its 
heartiest congratulations and assurances of enthu- 
siastic support. " 

United States Senator Randall L. Gibson, of 
Louisiana, said : 

"I beg to tender my cordial wishes for your 
election and the assurance that the people of Lou- 
isiana will respond to your nomination in the 
earnest hope that it may successfully appeal to 
the moral sense and comprehensive patriotism and 
national spirit of the young men of the country, 
who must feel that the time has at last come to 
obliterate sectional and wornout issues, and to 
insist upon greater responsibility, a higher sense 
of honor, econotny, and genuine reform of our com- 
mon government." 

The first invitation to participate in a public 
event came from the managers of the Cincinnati 
Lidustrial Exposition, who invited Governor Cleve- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 121 

land to be their guest some time in September 
during the exhibition. 

Among the many gentlemen who called on 
Governor Cleveland was Senator K. Gibson, of 
Louisiana, who had been stopping at Saratoga a few 
days, and who in company with President White 
of the Louisiana State University at the invitation 
of the Governor paid him a visit. They had quite 
an extended conversation, and the senator went 
away much pleased. Meeting some friends, Mr. 
Gibson gave his opinion of the Democratic nominee 
as follows : 

" I like him very much," lie answered. " He 
is a man of plain, simple manner, and does not 
look as though he was pulled out of his boots by 
the suddenness with which fame has fallen upon 
him. I think he is iust the man to lead in this 
movement. He is an honest, good, strong, hearty 
man, and his candidacy will raise our politics out 
of the old ruts. I have had a number of letters 
from old friends in the North expressing joy at his 
nomination. They say there is a chance now to 
get completely away from the past and to bring 
the best men of the South and the North together 
once more. I must say I am greatly pleased with 
the outlook. I believe that a strom? sentiment in 
favor of reform is setting in, and that the culmina- 
tion of it will be the election of Governor Cleve- 
land." 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Leading Journals on the Nominations— What the News- 
papers Said on the Nomination of Groveu Cleveland and 
Thomas A. Hendricks— With But One Exception the Promi- 
nent Newspapers of New York City Spoke Favorably of thb 
Democratic Ticket. 

The political contest of 1884 furnished an un- 
usually good test of the power of the press in in- 
fluencing political action. 

The New York Herald^ the most conspicuous of 
all American newspapers, departed so fixr from its 
usual attitude of indifference as to print the names 
of the Democratic candidates at the head of its 
editorial columns, and it went into the fight with 
old-time enthusiasm. The Times, one of the two 
great Republican dailies, gave its support to Cleve- 
land and it was joined by the Evening Post, a paper 
that had alwavs been consistent to the honorable 
record of its founder, William Cullen Bryant, one 
of the founders of the Republican party. The 
San was strongly opposed to Blaine, and the Slaats 
Zeilniig, the great German daily, was earnestly for 
Cleveland. So also were the World, the Jonrualj 
Truth, the Ecening Telegram and the Evening News, 
The Qrapliic, too, was for Cleveland. The Journal 
of Commerce was neutral, mihI the Commercial Ad- 

6122) 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 123 

^ertiser, tliougli Republican, was quite lukewarm 
toward Blaine and evidently did not exert itself 
much in his behalf. There remained only the 
Tribune^ which led the Liberal Republican revolt 
of 1872, but now was the accepted Blaine organ. 

To the anti-Blaine forces are also to be added 
such influential weeklies as the Independent, an old 
Republican organ with a very large circulation 
throughout the United States; H<n'pers Weekli/, 
with its steadfast Republican record, and PucJc, a 
very vigorous fighter. But this list might be pro- 
longed indefinitely ; it is sufficient to show that the 
press of New York city is all but unanimous in 
support of Governor Cleveland against Blaine. 

The majority of the newspapers of other States, 
among whom we find the Boston Transc7'ip)t, the 
Springfield Eejndylican and other prominent Repub- 
lican dailies have also declared in favor of the 
Democratic ticket. 

The Boston Globe, one of the leading papers of 
New England, on the day after the nomination 
published the following editorial, which it headed 
" President Cleveland." 

"The Democratic Convention at Chicago selected 
the next President of the United States wdien it 
bestowed the highest nomination in its gift upon 
Grover Cleveland, of New York. 

"The Convention was composed of 820 of the 
best representatives of a party which has seen the 
birth and death of every other party, save one, 



124 STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 

during our existence as a nation. The exception 
is the Republican party, and Grover Cleveland's 
nomination means that the ixrand old organization 
Avhich has stood defeat after defeat for nearly a 
quarter of a century, will once more grasp the 
crown of victory in November and bury its great 
rival beyond hope of resurrection. 

" Grover Cleveland is a man who challenges the 
support of every newspaper and every man who 
desires honest government, lie will again set up 
that standard of honesty and the practical exem- 
plification of good government which every lover 
of his country desires and has the right to expect 
from such an administration as the nominee will 
give to the United States. Hence Grover Cleve- 
land will have the hearty support of the Globe in 
the campaign upon which we have now entered. 

"Of his triumphant election we have not a 
shadow of a doubt. 

" We do not take any stock in the attempts of 
the Repul)lican papers to show that our foreign 
voters will go for Mr. Bhiine. In the first place, 
these Republican papers have insulted what they 
call the foreign voters times without number. Now, 
in the vain hope of securing some of their votes, 
they are extremely complimentary to men they 
earnestly despise. In the second place, the men 
designated have always righteously resented this 
constant reiteration of the statement that they are 
foreigners. They are here to stay. They are Amer- 
ican citizens, and are proud of the fact. Many 
of them helped to fight our battles. They believe 
in this home of the brave, this land^f the free, and 
are as proud of and as loyal to America as any of 
our citizens. They are as true as steel to the Demo- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 125 

cratic party and its principles, and see that through 
their triumph will American citizenship be best 
protected, whether at home or abroad. 
" '"Governor Cleveland will be supported by a 
united and aggressive Democratic party. He will 
have the votes of tens of thousands of independent 
Republicans. He will have the support of the 
larger part of successful newspapers of the country, 
both secular and religious. He will have the con- 
fidence and votes of the business men of the land. 
It will be shown that this poor boy who has worked 
his way up to the proud position which he now 
holds knows what it is to work day in and day out, 
and that he is a true friend of the toilins; masses. 
It will be demonstrated in a thousand wavs that 
he is the man upon which all the opposition to 
Mr. Blaine can best be concentrated. It will be 
shown that Grover Cleveland will be elected." 



The comments of the independent newspapers 
01 New York and New England upon Mr. Blaine's 
nomination were so positive that their meaning 
and intent could not be mistaken. The New Yorl: 
papers long distinctively independent are the Her- 
aid, Sun and Staats Zeitiuig. The Herald believed 
that every man who cares for the purity of public 
life and the w^elfare of the country must regret such 
a nomination. It thought, however, that the choice 
would be accepted by a large number of voters with 
something of grim satisfaction, as it would enable the 
party and the country to bury out of sight so bad 
a candidate as James G. Blaine by an overwhelm- 



126 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

ing defeat. It believed that these voters would 
congratulate themselves that they were in a fair 
way to have done with Blaine forever. The Her- 
ald believed that Cleveland was the most availa- 
ble as well as the best Democratic candidate. 

The Sun was of opinion that while many Repub- 
licans would oppose Mr, Blaine his weakness would 
not come so much from his old transactions in rail- 
way bonds and in the Mulligan letters as from his 
Quixotic policy when he was Secretary of State. 
Of the ensuing campaign the San says : 

"But those who imagine that because of such dis- 
affection the country is now to witness a spiritless 
canvass and an easy triumph for the opposition are, 
in our judgment, very much in error. Mr. Blaine 
is a fei'tile and sensational politician and he will 
force the fighting from the start. Moreover, a party 
in power is always hard to beat, and the Republican 
party can outdo in this respect all others that ever 
existed outside of Mexico. It will not be enough 
to defeat Mr. Blaine at the polls. It will not be 
enough to have against him an immense majority 
of the people. It will not be enough to have a 
majority of the electoral college. Fraud and force 
will be brought into play by the Republican office- 
holders in 1884 just as freely as they were in 1876. 
Mr. Blaine is a man of desperate expedients. His 
party is a desperate party." 

The D'uth and Journal were also opposed to 
Mr. Blaine, and expressed their confidence in his in- 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. ^27 

ability to carry the country with him when its 
sober sense was taken, as must be the case after a 
canvass of four months. 

The Times lias long been the great Independent 
newspaper of New York city inside the Republican 
party. During the preliminary canvass it waged 
bitter warfare upon Blaine. It then repudiated 
him with a positiveness which showed that it had 
crossed the Rubicon and burned its bridges. The 
Times was confident of Mr. BLaine's defeat, of 
which and the consequences it said : 

"There will be nothing ambiguous about the 
defeat of Mr. Blaine. He who runs may clearly 
read the verdict in advance: ^ A candidate unworthy 
of confidence and a party too careless of its own 
honor to be longer trusted with the nation's.* That 
defeat will be the salvation of the Republican party. 
It will arouse its torpid conscience, it will stir it to 
self-purification, it will depose the false leaders who 
have fastened themselves upon it, it will send the 
rogues to the background and will make the party 
once more worthy of power." 

As to its own position in the canvass it says, 
with a plainness that cannot be mistaken : 

" The Times will not support Mr. Blaine for the 
Presidency. It will advise no man to vote for him, 
and its reasons for this course are perfectly well 
understood by everybody that has ever re<ad it." 

The Evening Post, all of whose traditions are 



128 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

independent and which has been tlie leading Re- 
publican evening paper for a generation, early led 
the fight against Blaine. It then announced that 
his defeat was certain and its magnitude depended 
largely upon the action of the Democrats. It be- 
lieved that the nomination of Cleveland left the 
Republican candidate without a remaining chance. 
Its own position was well presented in the follow- 
ing extract : 

'' The Chicago Republican Convention asks alarge 
and, by every one's admission, influential minority 
to accept a candidate whom it believes to represent 
more than aught else the base and corrupt office- 
holding element in American politics. What makes 
the matter all the worse is that the situation thus 
created is one in which no compromise is possible. 
What is to be the issue from this deplorable and 
disastrous, but deliberately created, muddle, it is 
yet too soon to forecast. That Mr. Blaine cannot 
be elected we look on as certain. Whether he can 
be defeated without ruininir the oro-anization which 
is being prostituted in the service of his selfish 
ambition remains to be seen. Whatever happens, 
we believe a great political purification will be the 
result, and we shall somehow have a party which 
will represent the American people in its noblest 
mood and will adequately express the national re- 
spect for the virtues by which governments as well 
as homes are maintained and defended." 

The Boston Advertiser has long been the leading 
Republican newspaper of New England. But it 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 129 

had been gradually getting away from the position 
of an organ and had manifested a tendency 
toward Independence. It asserted that to a 
large section of the Republican party the nomi- 
nation of Mr. Blaine would appear ominous of 
disaster. 

We need not enter upon any formal declaration 
of our own entire agreement with those Republi- 
cans who thus fail to find in the nomination any 
fit expression of the established principles and 
avowed aims of the Republican party. We 
declare our inability to support Mr. Blaine, either 
in the present aspect of the political field or in 
any which now seems likely to present itself. 

The Boston Herald has been Independent for 
many years, with strong Republican leanings. It 
conceded that Mr. Blaine was a representative 
Republican, representative of the aims, methods, 
principles and purposes of the "jobbing and 
trading politicians ' who shape its action and con- 
tribute to its success. With this assumption it 
announced its own purposes : 

" It is perhaps well that the party should ask the 
judgment of the people under the leadership of a 
candidate who embodies more completely than any 
other man the real spirit of Republicanism. Mr. 
Blaine is no stool-pigeon nor mask. There is no 
cant or reform about him. The people know him. 
Believing that Mr. Blaine would be a bad and 
dangerous President we hope to see him defeated. 



130 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

Believing him to be a weak candidate we expect 
to see him defeated. If the Democrats rise to the 
occasion, nominate Governor Cleveland and give 
him an lionest support, we believe they will carry 
the election." 

The Springfield Republican had long been as 
prominent for its unwavering Republicanism as 
for its undoubted independence inside the lines of 
its party. It said : 

" The Republican party, dazzled with the quali- 
ties which please the mob, have placed Mr. Blaine 
in nomination, thereby giving to the Democratic 
party the greatest opportunity it has ever had to 
recover power by nominating a clean, able, safe 
and progressive statesman like Grover Cleveland. 
New York is the vital State, and the nomination 
of Cleveland, with his views in favor of revenue 
reform and civil service reform, and his efficient 
administration, would undoubtedly win the sup- 
port of the ludependent vote. If the Democrats 
will only rise to the magnitude of their opportun- 
ity they will make a strong appeal to the plain 
people who prefer an unsullied, honorable and safe 
leader like Governor Cleveland to a demagogue 
of the speculative school of pretended statesman- 
ship." 

The accomplished editor of Harpers Weekly, who 
represented the Independent movement in the 
National Convention, and who best represented 
their actual position in connection with their 



STEPHEN GROYEK CLEVELAND. 131 

** bolt/' thus succinctly stated what that position 
was in that journal. He said : 

" There are plenty of Kepublicans who do not 
feel any obligation of any kind to support bad Re- 
publican nominations. They see that to insist upon 
support of the regular candidate without regard to 
his character or career, for the reason that to op- 
pose him would endanger the party, is to hold 
either that the party can never nominate an unfit 
candidate, or that however unfit a candidate may 
be and whatever light his nomination may throw 
upon the party, nobody who has ever voted with 
the party would be justified in voting against him. 
This is a doctrine which no self-respecting man and 
no intelligent Republican can hold ; and the Re- 
publican protest of this year will have been most 
serviceable if it should do no more than show more 
clearly than ever what this journal has always 
maintained, that the first duty of a citizen is not 
to a party, but to his own conscience." 

The New York Times, one of the most influen- 
tial and ably edited Republican newspapers, said : 

'" With Grover Cleveland as its candidate the 
Democratic party appeals with unmistakable direct- 
ness to the moral sense of the people of the United 
States. Shall the next President be a man who 
has weakly yielded to temptation, or a man who 
has unswervingly adhered to the right against 
great temptations to do wrong ? A man who begs 
pecuniary rewards of those his official action has 
enriched, or one who defies corrupt dictation and 
seeks only by a just course to deserve the approval 



132 STEPHEN GROVFR CLEVELAND. 

of all honorable and right-thinking men? This is 
the supreme isi^ue. It i^ this which the voters of 
the republic are to decide. It is not the issue of 
protection ; the tariff has nothing to do with it. 
The honest convictions and patriotism of ten mil- 
lit)ns of voters are appealed to, and they will settle 
this question conclusively and for the right. 

''It is not only in what he clearly represents, 
but in what he opposes, that Grover Cleveland is 
strong before tiie American people. Ilis career has 
made him the exponent of clean and honest politics. 
In the administration of public trusts he iias shown 
that he is superior to partisan bias and opposed to all 
party measures that are in conflict with official 
probity and the public welfare. He has been se- 
verely tried in the impoi-tant and responsible posi- 
tion he now occupies as Governor of the great Em- 
pire State. He lias resisted the importunities of 
designing politicians and defeated the plans of 
selfish schemers. All members of his ow^n party 
who are not striving for private gains which are 
in conflict with the public good are outspoken in 
his praise, and he has won the good opinion of all 
men who are not so biased by partisanship as to 
have lost the power to commend upright conduct 
in a political adversary. 

" Could a candidate find stronger recommenda- 
tion than this in the opinion of voters whose polit- 
ical actions are shaped solely by considerations of 
the public good? The official acts which have 
won for Governor Cleveland the intense hostility 
of all jobbers and disreputable men are the very 
acts which have most strongly commended him to 
the support of honest voters." 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 133 

The New York Herald printed the names of the 
candidates of the Democratic party at the head of 
its editorial columns, and on the day succeeding 
the convention pubHshed the following editorial : 

*' We congratulate the Democratic party upon 
the work of its convention at Chicago and the op- 
portunity it offers to the American people through 
a union of patriotic voters, by whatev.er name they 
call themselves — Democrats, Independents, Labor 
Reformers, or whatsoever else — to redeem the coun- 
try from the disgrace and peril to which the Re- 
publican party has plotted to expose it by the 
thoroughly bad nominations of Blaine and Logan. 
Cleveland's easy nomination on the second ballot 
justifies all that we have said of the sound judg- 
ment and good sense of this convention when put 
to a decisive test of choosing between what is vital, 
sound and vigorous in the democracy and what is 
very much the other way, and the convention is to 
be congratulated upon the fact that it has named 
the man who will be the next President. 

" Parties in this country are now at a turning- 
point in their history, and it is for the democracy, 
if it hopes to impress its convictions upon the life 
of the nation, to take this turn in the tide at its 
happy moment, or it must remain stranded with 
the wrecks of its past history. The nomination 
of Cleveland means that the young democracy is 
determined to take the tide at its flood. We be- 
lieve also that it is a noniination which will com- 
mand the approval of the aged and sagacious as 
well as the enthusiasm of the vigorous and youth- 
ful." 



134 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

The Philadelphia Ledger, the great newspaper 
owned by Mr? George W. Childs, which is inde- 
pendent in politics, spoke in an ably-written edito- 
rial in regard to the nominations of the Democratic 
Convention as follows : 

" The delegates thus made a wise determination 
for their party and a good one for the country. 
Governor Cleveland has shown throuiih the whole 
of his life, private and public, from boyhood to his 
present distinction, that he has the sterling quali- 
ties befitting the exalted office of Chief Executive 
of the United States. It is the highest function of 
that office to administer the laws with an eye sin- 
gle to the public welfiire. Our government has 
been tersely described as ^of the people, by the 
people, and for the people.' No eminent public 
man has exhibited a better understanding of that 
definition of the American 2:overnment than Grover 
Cleveland; none has exemplified it better than he 
has in his performance of public duty, and but few, 
very few indeed, have exemplified it so well. His 
guiding characteristics have been loyalty to duty, 
courage in the discharge of it, and the best aud 
most faithful performance of it within his power. 
These are strong words; strong because they are 
true. 

" The traits we have mentioned are not revela- 
tions of his public career alone. They showed 
themselves in his early boyhood, when as a store- 
boy he won by his faithful work the good-will and 
strong attachment of his em[)loyers; again, as a 
teacher of the blind ; airain, as law-clerk and law- 
student, battling his way through most discourag- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 135 

ing difficulties ; again, as Assistant District Attor- 
ney and lawyer; as Sheriff of his county, as Mayor 
of Buffalo, and as Governor of the State of New 
York. He is known among his neighbors (the 
humblest and the highest) as a man to rely upon, 
^safe to trust to do what is right.' These charac- 
teristics, wuth his bright intelligence and strong 
abilities, have given him his distinctions and pre- 
ferments, for the office has always sought him and 
not he the offiice. 

'^ ^Cleveland won our admiration by his three 
marked traits of character — his indomitable indus- 
try, unpretentious courage, and unswerving hon- 
esty. I never saw a more thorough man at any- 
thing he undertook.' This is the testimony of one 
of his associates in the law office in which he passed 
from boyhood to vigorous manhood. It bespeaks 
a fully-equipped man. and that is the man he has 
shown himself to be in fighting the battles of the 
people against the combined spoilsmen and ^rings' 
of his city and State. There have been men, and 
there are men now, with noble ideals of what true 
and pure government means as a trust held for the 
people. It has happened to but few of these to 
have the opportunity to realize their ideal in of- 
fice, and of those who have had the opportunity 
fewer still have carried the ideal into consist- 
ent, inexorable practice. Governor Cleveland is 
one of those who have. In his view and in his 
practice as a public officer the money of the people 
and the interests of the people are held as trusts 
for the people, to be exercised as carefully, as 
faithfully, and as honorably as the most sacred 
private trust. His views of public office, as here 
expressed, ai-e his guides in every performance of 



136 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELANa 

public duty; so it may be repeated that a man 
with such trails of private and public character, 
broad-minded and bright-minded, self-poised, self- 
reliant, independent and courageous as Governor 
Cleveland is, has the sterling qualities that befit 
tlie office of President of the United States." 

The N. Y. Truth, on the day after the conven- 
tion, published the following editorial : 

^^As between Cleveland and Blaine no Democrat 
will hesitate, and no Republican ought to. In all 
the offices he has held he acquitted himself credit- 
ably and came out of them unspotted. He made 
a good Mayor; he makes a good Governor. Who 
can doubt that he will make a good President? 
He has made mistakes, no doubt, but who has not? 
He has never made a mistake by which his integ- 
rity was compromised. If he vetoed the Five-cent 
Fare bill it was not for the purpose of claiming a 
reward from the elevated railroad corporations. 
His record is a clean one, his character is unim- 
peachable, his principles are known and sound. 
He would make a safe President both for the busi- 
ness interests of the country and in the maintenance 
of friendly relations with foreign powers." 

The N. Y. Staats Zelhrng, one of the most influ- 
ential German daily papers, «aid : 

"It cannot be honestly denied that a change of 
parties in office, brought about without revolution, 
can only have a wholesome effect. No party can 
continue a long, uninterrupted possession of power 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 137 

without becoming a prey to corruption. The Re- 
publican party has furnished ample proof of this. 
Mr. Cleveland's record as chief magistrate of a 
large city and a great State has made him in the 
popular mind the prototype of a conscientious offi- 
cial, unwavering in principle, and one who, to the 
deep chagrin of professional politicians, has always 
held the public interest above party considerations. 
Mr. Clevehmd will certainly use the whole power 
of the presidential office to purify the federal ser- 
vice and to keep it pure, and this, above all, is ex- 
pected by the people of the President. Wherever 
corruption has taken root he would not, as would 
be the case with a Republican President, have to 
exercise leniency, and he will take proper precau- 
tions in order that the corruption may not be con- 
tinued under the Democratic regime. No earthly 
power w^ill be able to induce him to let corruption- 
ists use the influence of his hi"h office. 

" The point has been forcibly made in Chicago 
that Cleveland's strength among the German- 
Americans is especially great, and this has, as we 
learn from good sources, contributed essentially 
toward securing him the nomination. The sym- 
pathies of the Germans for Cleveland were placed 
in direct and strong contrast to the enmity of the 
spoils politicians wdio comprise Tammany's strength. 
The Germans were recognized in Chicago as a 
model political element, which holds reform meas- 
ures paramount over all other considerations, and 
Avhich cannot be made to swerve from this deep 
rooted opinion by party consideration or that kind 
of patriotism commonly called State pride. Blaine's 
political record has principally brought about the 
decided aversion of the Germans against him, and 



138 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 

his identification with the prohibitionists and 
knownothingisni lias given additional strength to 
this aversion. 

" The Republican party has since Blaine's nomi- 
nation entirely lost the hold it once had on the 
Germans, which had been greatly weakened after 
the slavery issue had been disposed of, and espe- 
cially since the Republican party became a synon- 
yme for corruption. Hence the nomination of Mr. 
Cleveland will make it especially advisable for the 
Germans to join en masse the Democratic party. 
The- large northwestern States, where the Germans 
have for so many years enabled the Republican 
party to maintain its power, have, under these 
circumstances, become doubtful States, and we may 
expect a great political revolution in Indiana and 
Wisconsin, and perhaps even in Illinois." 

The Boston Transcript (Rep.) in the following 
editorial predicted that independent voters would 
elect the next President : 

"No candid Republican can fail to admire the 
courMije and saij^acitv which induced the Demo- 
cratic Convention to nominate Governor Cleveland 
for President, despite General Butler's enmity, the 
threats of Kelly and his mercenary gang to control 
the result. The political foresight of the conven- 
tion gloriously triumphed, in spite of all the stren- 
uous efforts that interested demagogues put forth 
to obscure and mislead its iudscment. Butler and 
Kelly have been virtually told that they must sup- 
port the candidate whose independent course has 
excited their bitterest wrath or leave the Demo- 
cratic party." 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 139 

WHAT MR. TILDEN THOUGHT OF THE TICKET. 

A reporter had an interview with Mr. Samuel 
J. Tilden, at Greystone, near New York, shortly 
after the Chicago Convention had made the nomi- 
nations. 

" Mr. Tilden, how do you regard the nomination 
of Cleveland ? " was asked. 

'' It is a good nomination. Mr. Cleveland is 
very popular and I think he will beat Blaine." 

" What do you think of the nomination of Hen- 
dricks ? " 

''It is rather queer that Mr. Hendricks should 
be put in the second place upon the ticket. He 
will give it great strength, however, especially in 
Indiana and the West. Mr. Hendricks is a man 
who would sacrifice his own ambition for the bene- 
fit of the party, and, of course, will do all in his 
power to help his own election. I had an idea 
that he was not so popular as the outburst in his 
favor at the convention proved." 

'' Will you take any part in the campaign ?" 

Mr. Tilden smiled sadly as he replied : 

"No. I have withdrawn from political life for- 
ever. Still I want to see this great country in 
honest hands before I die." 

From Orlando B. Potter, of Tammany Hall, 
the following telegram arrived on the day succeed- 
ing the couA^ention : "Having honestly and ear- 
nestly labored for another nomination, I accept the 
people's choice as my law, and will devote what- 



140 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

ever ability I possess to your election." Judge 
Barrett of the Supreme Court, cabled from Lon- 
don : "I congratulate the country upon your nomi- 
nation." Many like messages came from Americans 
in Berlin, Paris and other foreign points. Isadore 
Wormser, the banker, sends his congratulations 
all the way from Aachen, Germany. Mr. D. 
Willis James, head of the house of Phelps, Dodge 
and Co., says : " My warmest congratulations. 
Now for constant, faithful work to render your 
election absolutely certain. I pledge my most 
earnest support." 

Especially noticeable were the large number of 
messages from young men's clubs. The young 
men came forward for the Governor with the 
greatest enthusiasm. They indicate a genuine 
revolutionary uprising, and even the most sanguine 
friends of Governor Cleveland were hardly pre- 
pared for so generous a response to his nomina- 
tion. 

Mr. John De Mott, the New York banker, said : 
— " I believe the success of the Democratic party 
will be very beneficial to all interests when the 
records of the two men named upon it are consid- 
ered. Judging Mr. Cleveland's future by his past, 
and remembering his record from the moment he 
entered political life, one can see at a glance that 
every step he has taken has been marked by hon- 
esty, a strict regard of duty and sterling integrity. 
In his case position has always sought the man, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 141 

not the man the position, and as a public officer he 
has done more to destroy political rings than any 
other man who has been invested with executive 
power for a long time. His fight for right and 
justice for the taxpayers of the city of New York 
brought him into disfavor with Tammany HalL" 

Mr. Matthias B. Smiih, a founder of the firm of 
Dun, Barlow & Co., said: — '1 think the nomina- 
tion of Governor Cleveland should be regarded 
as a real cause for congratulation, not alone by his 
own party, but by all Americans who have busi- 
ness or other interests at stake. In his administra- 
tion as Governor he has shown a prudence and 
capacity that guarantee the best results should he 
be called to the Chief Magistracy. I think his elec- 
tion would conduce to promote the interests of the 
commercial community, and he would suffer no 
sudden changes to be made which would unsettle 
business or in any w^ay deteriorate from the na- 
tional prosperity. 

'' I think Cleveland's nomination the best and 
strongest that could be made," said General George 
B. McClellan, at his charming residence on the 
brow of Orange Mountain last evening to a Herald 
reporter. " I believe he will be elected," the Gen- 
eral continued. '^ He will carry New Jersey, of 
course, and by a handsome majority. The Demo- 
cratic platform is a very good one." 

Mr. J. C. Havemeyer, in reply to a question as 
to whether he thought the election of Cleveland 



142 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

would have a simulating effect on business, said: — 
*' The present administration tends to foster mo- 
nopolies, and I believe the sentiment of the busi- 
ness men is to change this policy as soon as possible. 
Mr. Cleveland, I think, is the right man to change 
this system. He represents the reform element 
of his party, lie has shown in his administration 
that he had more regard for the real interests of 
the people than for the interests of the politicians. 
Therefore he has gathered about him all that is 
irood and has made enemies of all that is bad ; and 
this, it seems to me, is a very healthy condition. 
This has made him prominent." 

" What do you think of the principles set forth 
in the platform ?" 

" Platforms upon which a candidate stands be- 
fore the public are of no consequence in a case like 
this. I look more to the man than to the platform, 
for platforms are framed to catch votes. Mr. 
Cleveland is not a partisan, and that is why I like 
him. I think he is an extremely safe man to be 
President, and I believe he will be elected." 



CHAPTER VII 
MR. CLEVELAND NOTIFIED. 

A Notable Gathering in Albany— The Scene at trk 
Executive Mansion when the Nominee was Offici- 
ally Informed of His Selection— The Governor's 
Dignified Reply— A IIally at Night. 

The committee charged with the duty of for- 
mally presenting the edict of the hist Chicago Con- 
vention and those public characters who accom- 
panied them in performing the task made up an 
assemblage of notables, such as had not for years, 
if ever, been gathered together for a like purpose. 
Every train and boat which came in this morning 
brought prominent Democrats from all parts of the 
country, and before noon the rotunda of the Dele- 
van House presented much the appearance of one 
of the Washins^ton hotels when Conixress is in ses- 
sion. Besides men of prominence in the politics 
of almost every State in the Union the members 
of the national Democratic and Congressional com- 
mittees were on hand. About noon ex-Speaker 
Randall arrived and was all day surrounded by a 
large crowd of admirers. Perhaps there were fifty 
prominent personages, representing the best ele- 
ments of the party, brought here to see and partici- 

(143) 



144 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

pate in the notable event made doubly so by the 
character of tlie assemblage. 

At ten o'clock the national committee met at the 
Delevan House, but its chairman, ex-Senator Bar- 
iiuin, was not present and Congressman J. S. Bar- 
bour, of Virginia, presided. It transacted no 
business except to name an executive committee, 
consisting of William H. Barnum, Connecticut, ex- 
officio ; A. P. Gorman, Maryland ; M. W. Ransom, 
North Carolina; B. F. Jonas, Louisiana ; Hubert 
0. Thompson, New York ; William A. Wallace, 
Pennsylvania; John S. Barbour, Virginia; William 

F. Vilas, Wisconsin ; Austin H. Brown, Indiana; 
M. M. Hamm, Iowa; H. D. McHenry, Kentucky; 
P. H. Kelly, Minnesota; Bradley B. Smalley, 
Vermont ; A. W. Sulloway, New Hampshire ; F. 
W. Dawson, South Carolina; W. W. Armstrong, 
Ohio; Miles Ross, New Jersey; S. Corning Judd, 
Illinois; J. B. Barnaby, Rhode Island, and John 

G. Prather, Missouri. Charles J. Cauda, of New 
York, was re-elected treasurer. The committee 
adjourned about noon to meet again at three o'clock 
to accompany the notification committee to the 
Executive Mansion. 

It was about ten minutes past three o'clock when 
the Democratic Phalanx, of Albanv, a fine-lookins; 
body of men, iieaded by a btmd. appeared at the 
Delevan House to escort the notification committee 
anddistins^uished visitors to the Executive Mansion. 
Despite the rain and mud they marched through 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 145 

the street, while the committees were taken up in 
carriages. Along the line of march, in spite of the 
inclement weather, there were crowds of people 
gathered. It was after half-past three o'clock when 
the procession reached the Governor's house. Tiie 
mansion had been thrown open before the visitors 
reached there and quite a number of prominent 
men had gathered in the parlors, which had been 
beautifully decorated for the occasion. In the 
centre of each, at the foot of the large mirrors 
that hang against the walls, there were great banks 
of flowers, and other floral decorations were placed 
about the rooms. It was just four o'clock when 
the committees were all gathered in the east parlor 
ready to receive the nominee, and Colonel Vilas 
stepped toward the centre of the room. 

At this moment Governor Cleveland entered the 
room alone, stepped across it and, with his back to 
the bank of exotics, waited Colonel Vilas' speech. 
He was received with a round of applause as he 
faced the company. The room at this moment 
presented a very interesting picture. It was well 
crowded with leading men of his party. To his 
right stood his two sisters, Mrs. W. E. Hayt, of 
Fayettesville, in this State, and Miss R. E. Cleve- 
land, the maiden sister who still lives in the little 
home cottai^e at Holland Patent. To his left and 
near Mr. Bissell, of Buff^ilo, his law partner, were 
his two nieces, Miss Mary and Carry Hastings, 
daughters of his sister who for twenty o(^d years 



146 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

had been a missionary at Ceylon. These young 
hidies the Governor is educating in this country. 
Near them were Colonel Lamont, the Governor's 
private secretary, and his wife and a few other 
ladies, and beyond stood Joseph Pulitzer, of the 
World, and Senators Matt Ransom, Jonas and 0. 
P. Gorman. Toward the front were ex-Speaker 
Randall, Judge Abbott, Congressman P. A. Collins 
and General M. T. Donahue, of Massachusetts, 
and other notable men. 

Just as the Governor looked the audience full in 
the face Colonel Vilas stepped Ibrward and said : 

"Grover Cleveland, Governor of the State of 
New York : These gentlemen, my associates here 
present, whose voice I am honored with authority 
to utter, are a committee appointed by the National 
Democratic Convention which recently assembled 
in Chicago and charged with the grateful duty of 
acquainting you officially and in that solemn and 
ceremonious manner which the dignity and impor- 
tance of the communication demands with the in- 
teresting result of its deliberations, already known 
to you through the ordinary channels of news. 

" Sir, that august body, convened by direct dele- 
gation from the Democratic people of the several 
States and Territories of the Republic, and delib- 
erating under the witness of the greatest assembly 
of freemen ever gathered to such a conference in 
forethou2:ht of the election which the Constitution 
imposes upon them to make during tiie current 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 147 

year, have nominated you to the people of these 
United States to be their President for the next 
ensuing term of that great office, and with grave 
consideration of its exalted responsibilities have 
confidently invoked their suffrages to invest you 
with its functions. Through this committee the 
Convention's high requirement is delivered that 
you accept that candidacy. 

"This choice carries with it profound personal re- 
spect and admiration, but it has been in no man- 
ner the fruit of these sentiments. The National 
Democracy seek a President, not in compliment 
for what the man is or reward for what he has 
done, but in a just expectation of what he will ac- 
complish as the true servant of a free people, fit for 
their lofty trust. Always of a momentous conse- 
quence, they conceive the public exigenc}^ to be now 
of transcendent importance, that a laborious reform 
in administration as well as legislation is impera- 
tively necessary to the prosperity and honor of the 
Republic, and a competent Chief Magistrate must be 
of unusual temper and power. They have observed 
with attention your execution of the public trusts 
you have held, especially of that with wdiich you 
are now so honorably invested. They place reliance 
for the usefulness of the service they expect to ex- 
act for the benefit of the nation upon the evidence 
derived from the services you have performed for 
the State of New York. They invite the electors 
to such proof of character and competence to 



148 STEPUEX GROVEK CLEVELAND. 

justify their confidence that in the ncation, as here- 
tofore in the State, the public business will be admin- 
istered with commensurate intelligence and ability, 
with single-hearted honesty and fidelity and with 
a resolute and daring fearlessness which no faction, 
no combination, no power of wealth, no mistaken 
clamor can dismay or qualify. In the spirit of the 
wisdom and invoking the benediction of the divine 
Creator of men, we challenge from the sovereignty 
of the nation His words in commendation and rati- 
fication of our choice, * Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a 
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.' 
In further fulfilment of our duty the secretary 
will now present the written communication signed 
by the committee." 

These remarks were frequently interrupted by 
applause, for they were delivered with masterly 
effect. The speaker, who has a perfectly trained 
voice, seemed to intend from the start to get the 
best effects possible out of his splendidly turned 
sentences. During this delivery the Governor kept 
his eyes steadily fixed upon the speaker. He stood 
with his right hand between the buttons of his 
Prince Albert coat and looked much like a well- 
settled business man. Two or three times he 
seemed to be affected by the speaker's eloquent 
words, but he quickly regaine<l his self-possession 
and listened attentively. As Colonel Vilas closed 
Secretary Bell, of the connnittee, began to read 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 119 

the formal letter of notification, which was as 

follows : 

" To the Hon. Grover Cleveland, of New York : 
SI)': In accordance with a custom befittini2r the 
nature of the communication, the undersigned, 
representing the several States and Territories of 
the Union, were appointed a conmiittee by the 
National Democratic Convention, which assembled 
at Chicago on the 8th day of the current month, 
to perform the pleasing office, which we have the 
honor to execute, of informing you of your nomi- 
nation as the candidate of the Democratic party for 
the office of President of the United States. A 
declaration of the principles upon which the Democ- 
racy go before the people with a hope of establish- 
ing and maintaining tliem in the government was 
made by the Convention, and an engrossed copy 
thereof is submitted in cormection with tiiis com- 
numication for your consideration. We trust the 
approval of your judgment will follow an examina- 
tion of this expression of opinion and policy, and 
upon the political controversy now made up we in- 
vite your acceptance of the exalted leadership to 
which you have been chosen. The election of a 
President is an event of the utmost importance to 
the people of America. Prosperity, growth, hap- 
piness, peace and liberty even may depend upon its 
Avise ordering. Your unanimous nomination is proof 
that the Democracy believe your election will most 
contribute to secure those great objects. We assure 
you that in the anxious responsibilities you must 
assume as a candidate you will have the steadfast, 
cordial support of the friends of the cause you will 
represent, and in the execution of the duties of the 



150 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

high office which we confidently expect from the 
wisdom of the nation to be conferred upon jou, you 
may securely rely for approving aid upon the patri- 
otism, honor and intelligence of this free people. 
We have the honor to be, with great respect, etc." 

The address was signed by all the members of 
the committee. 

The reading embarrassed and somewhat inter- 
rupted the harmony of the addresses, as all were 
anxious to hear Governor Cleveland. The letter 
being finished, the Presidential candidate replied 
in a clear, distinct tone of voice as follows : 

"Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: 
Your formal announcement does not, of course, con- 
vey to me the first inlbrmation of the result of the 
Convention lately held by the Democracy of the 
nation ; and yet, when as I listen to jour message, 
I see about me representatives from all parts of the 
land of the great party which, claiming to be the 
party of the people, asks them to entrust to it the 
administration of their government, and when I 
consider under tlie influence of the stern reality 
which the present surroundings create, that I have 
been chosen to represent the plans, purposes and 
the policy of the Democratic party, I am profoundly 
impressed by the solemnity of the occasion and by 
tiie responsibility of my position. Though I grate- 
fully appreciate it, I do not, at this moment, con- 
gratulate myself upon the distinguished honor which 
has been conferred upon me, because my mind is 
full of an anxious desire to perform well the part 
which has been assigned to me. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 151 

" Nor do I at this moment forget that the rights 
and interests of more than fifty millions of my fel- 
low-citizens are involved in our efforts to gain Demo- 
cratic supremacy. This reflection presents to my 
mind the consideration which, more than all others, 
gives to the action of my party in Convention as- 
sembled its most sober and serious aspect. The 
party and its representatives which ask to be en- 
trusted at the hands of the people with the keeping 
of all that concerns their welfare and their safety 
should only ask it with the full appreciation of the 
sacredness of the trust and with a firm resolve to 
administer it faithfully and well. I am a Democrat 
because I believe that this truth lies at the foundation 
of true Democracy. I have kept the faith because 
I believe, if rightly and fairly administered and ap- 
plied, Democratic doctrines and measures will in- 
sure the happiness, contentment and prosperity of 
the people. If, in the contest upon which we now 
enter, we steadfastly hold to the underlying prin- 
ciples of our party creed and at all times keep in 
view the people's good, we shall be strong because 
we are true to ourselves and because the plain and 
independent voters of the land will seek by their 
suffrages to compass their release from party tyr- 
anny, where there should be submission to the pop- 
ular will, and their protection from party corrup- 
tion where there should be devotion to the people's 
interests. 

" These thoughts lend a consecration to our cause 
and we go forth, not merely to gain a partisan ad- 
vantage, but pledged to give to those who trust us 
the utmost benefits of an honest administration of 
national affairs. No higher purpose or motive can 
stimulate us to supreme effort or urge us to continu- 



152 STEPHEN GROVEK CLEVELAND. 

ous and earnest labor and effective party organiza- 
tion. Let us not fail in this, and we may confi- 
dently hope to reap the full reward of patriotic 
services well performed. 

" I have thus calh'd to mind some simple truths, 
and trite though they are it seems to me we do 
well to dwell upon them at this time. I sliall 
soon, I hope, signify in the usual formal manner 
my acceptance of the nomination which has been 
tendered to me. In the meantime 1 gladly greet 
you all as co-workers in a noble cause." 



Twice Mr. Cleveland was interrupted by ai> 
plause and his reply made a powerful impression 
upon his listeners, lie spoke entirely without 
notes and never for a moment under these most 
trying circumstances lost his perfect self-control. 
His tones were clear and distinct, and although he 
was making the effort of his life up to the present 
hour he did not falter under the very severe test 
of making an address of this character from mem- 
ory. Even so trained a public speaker as Mr. 
Blaine read his reply to the committee of notifica- 
tion rather than trust himself to his memory. 

Governor Cleveland's was the central figure of a 
very picturesque scene. As the candidate fmished 
speaking the audience began to press forward to 
shake his hand and congratulate him. The chair- 
man of the committee and Secretary Prince intro- 
duced each member, and for the time the parlor 
presented a very animated scene. In the throng, 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 153 

besides those above mentioned, were ex-Senator 
Stockton, of New Jersey ; Congressman Perry Bel- 
mont, Erastus Corning, Colonel George H. Bard- 
well, of Pennsylvania; Congressman G. H. Oury, 
of Arizona, and many other important people of 
State and national fame. After the handshaking 
was over the company was invited to partake of a 
lunch, and an hour or more was spent in eating 
and talking. The Governor mingled freely with 
the guests who stayed to partake of his hospitality. 
It was well on toward night before all had departed, 
and the notable event w^as a thing of the past. 

A reception was given directly after the notifi- 
cation at the Fort Orange Club House. This is an 
entirely non-partisan club, but it joined in honor- 
ing the distinguished guests. After a liberal colla- 
tion speeches were made by General Hooker, 
Governor Waller and Judge Parker, and the fol- 
lowing important telegram was read by Senator 
Thacher : — 

Gretstone, July 29, 1884. 
To Democratic Phalanx, Albany: — 

I received last evening your invitation to attend 
the meeting this evening under the auspices of the 
Albany Democratic phalanx for the purpose of 
ratifying the nomination of Cleveland and Hen- 
dricks. Although I cannot be present in person 
with my old friends in Albany on that interesting 
occasion, I cordially co-operate with them in sup- 
port of the excellent nominations by the Demo- 
cratic National Convention, and feel assured that 



I 

154 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

in its success at the election, of which there is 
every promise, the country will achieve a substan- 
tial victory for the cause of good government. 

S. J. TiLDEN. 

In conversation with Speaker Randall at the 
Fort Orange Club, he said : — '' The Democratic 
platform in its tariff plank is the most intelligent 
statement of the case ever presented in any public 
or private document. It meets the case in every 
point exactly as the country likes to have it. 
When we arrive at the point of protecting indus- 
tries to the extent of the difference between the 
cost of production here and that of production 
elsewhere, that is all that is wanted. There need 
be no talk either of high protection or infant in- 
dustries." 

In the evening two very large and enthusiastic 
ratification meetings were held at the Music Hall 
and the Leland Opera House, when addresses were 
made by Col. Vilas, ex-Speaker Samuel J. Randall, 
of Pennsylvania, Governor Waller, of Connecticut, 
General Charles F. Hooker, of Mississippi, A. V. 
Stevenson, of Illinois, Congressman Patrick C. 
Collins, of Massachusetts, Jos. Pulitzer of the New 
York World, and Col. John R. Fellows, of New 
York. 

There is a tone of Democratic simplicity and an 
air of dignified sincerity in the proceedings of noti- 
fication and in the speeches, characteristic of the 
men and the occasion, the more notable lor the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 155 

remarkable contrast presented with the theatrical 
demonstration at Augusta. As in the one scene 
we saw a company of charlatans and speculators 
playing a game of vainglorious pretence and organ- 
izing a display to strike the imagination of feeble- 
minded admirers, so in the other we perceive a 
group of unpretentious gentlemen discharging a 
public duty in a plain, manly way and exchanging 
greetings related to the subject in hand. There 
was notiiing brilliant or magnetic in what was said 
by or to Governor Cleveland, but there w-as a deal 
of sound common sense on both sides. 

Mr. Vilas was happy in his statement of the 
point of the case when he said : — " The national 
Democracy seek a President not in compliment for 
what the man is or reward for what he has done, 
but in a just expectation of what he will accom- 
plish as the true servant of a free people fit for 
their lofty trust." That is to say, the Democ- 
racy is not giving rewards or booming favorite 
sons or magnetic politicians, but is endeavoring 
to secure the welfare of the nation by putting 
into the Presidency a man who will overhaul the 
administration of the government, correct the 
abuses he finds and prevent plunder and other 
villany. That is the correct standard of choice, 
and one that seems to be too little under- 
stood by the friends of various aspirants for the 
nomination, who make it a grievance that a 
new man was preferred to some one of forty old 



156 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

war-horses. The new man is what the nation 
wants. 

But a party needs a certain guarantee that the 
man it chooses for the execution of its will shall 
have the mettle for the duty, and such guarantee 
it must find in what he has done. This concep- 
tion was well presented by the quotation from the 
New Testament — '' Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a 
few things, I will make thee ruler over many 
things." Evidently the Democrats of the country 
at large have observed Governor Cleveland's con- 
duct in his present office more closely than some 
of those near-by Republican editors who object that 
he has not had such experience as would qualify 
liim for the duties of the Presidency. In truth, 
there is no office in this country more nearly anal- 
ogous to the Presidency than that of Governor of 
this State, and no place where a man can be so 
well trained for AVashington as at Albany, and this 
the whole people will in due time discover. 

CLEVELAND ENDORSED BY THE INDEPENDENT REPUB- 
LICANS. 

The Independent Republicans of the United 
States held a confidence on Tuesday, July 22, in 
the city of New York, which was a success fiir 
beyond the anticipations of tlie most sanguine of its 
promoters. It was a gathering representing the 
best elements of the party of Abraham Lincoln in 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 157 

contradistinction to the party of Jim Blaine, Jack 
Logan and Steve Elkins. Over six hundred dele- 
gates were in attendance, and each one a representa- 
tive of the best intellect and the strictest integrity 
of the Republican Party. 

The chairman of the conference, Col. Charles R. 
Codman, sounded the keynote of the prevailing 
sentiment, when he said : "I do not hesitate to say, 
that the defeat of Mr. Blaine should be compassed 
by all honorable means. It seems to me that the 
cause of good government, of pure politics, of 
American character requires that he should be 
defeated. There is but one wav to do it, and this 
way must be obvious to us all." 

The one way was, to vote directly for the re- 
form candidate (Governor Cleveland), and thus do 
the best to secure his success. The conference so 
decided, and embodied its views in an able and pa- 
triotic address. 

Col. Codman spoke as follows on taking the chair: 

Fellow-Citizens: You have conferred a great 
honor on me in choosing me to preside over this 
conference, not of office-holders or office-seekers, 
but of citizens [cheers] desiring only the honor 
and welfare of the Republic. We are not here as 
party men, but as the representatives of that great 
body of citizens who desire to set aside for the 
time being the claims of party and to act together 
to achieve, if possible, results that will be for the 
highest good of the w^hole country. [Cheers.] The 
bond that unites us is a jealous sensitiveness for 



158 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the national character, and resentment at the at- 
tempt to lower it in the eyes of the world. 

It would be, we hold, an unspeakable disgrace 
for us in the full knowledge of the facts and with 
our eyes open, to place in the Presidential cliair a 
man with Mr. Blaine's standard of public mo- 
rality. 

We make no charges against private character, 
[applause], but hold that the public acts of Mr. 
Blaine, his attitude in relation to railroad legisla- 
tion and all other legislation, his record when 
Speaker of the House of Representatives or when 
holding any legislative position wdth corporations 
asking for Congressional aid or in any way depend- 
ent on Congressional action, are tit and proper 
subjects for investigation and for comment. 

Acting as we have for many years w^ith the 
Republican Party, it is not without pain that we 
find ourselves forced to oppose its nominations. 
But we say that parties are but means to accom- 
plisli political ends: that they must stand for 
principles. We do not see that nt the present time 
the two great parties which divide the country are 
clearly at issue on any great question. So that we 
are confined almost exclusively to the question of 
fitness of candidates. It is fortunate that this is 
so, for if the Democratic Party had nominated a 
man antagonistic to any of the great principles for 
which we have struggled, and the Republican 
Party had nominated Mr. Blaine, our position would 
liave been much more painful than it is to-day. 
We should have been compelled to face the painful 
and discouraiirinG!; alternative of not sustaining 
cherished political opinions, or of voting for a can- 
didate we believe to be unworthy. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 150 

But happily all the great principles to maintain 
which the Republican Party was founded have 
been long since settled. It is true that Mr. Blaine 
in his skillful letter of acceptance [laughter] hns 
at last expressed positive opinion on one subject. 
He has come out as an ardent friend of civil ser- 
vice reform [cheers and laughter] now that the 
country has declared for it; but in the days when 
the principle of civil service reform was struggling 
and weak it received no assistance from this once 
influential Republican leader. 

But, gentlemen, we have not taken the action 
which brings us here to-day without remonstrances 
from our party associates. They have rung the 
changes on political allegiance ; that the results of 
the war will be nullified ; that labor will be para- 
lyzed and capital destroyed if the Democratic 
Party should come into power, and they have told 
us that if Blaine is elected he will make the coun- 
try respected in the eyes of foreign nations. To 
all such suggestions we have been impervious. 
[Cries of '' Yes, Sir."] We reply that the con- 
stitutional interpretations settled by the war are 
not disputed ; that the Democrats, who are at least 
half the people in the country, have no desire, and 
can have no interest, to check the national pros- 
perity, and we say that the country is respected 
now throughout the world for its power, its energy, 
and its resources, and that it will so continue unless 
some anirressive and mao:netic President succeeds 
in making it ridiculous. [Wild cheers and ap- 
plause, the audience rising to its feet and waving 
hats and handkerchiefs in the air.] 

There has not been much in such considerations 
as these to make us support an obnoxious candi- 



160 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

date. But our party friends appeal to our sym- 
pathies. They ask us if we will indorse the Copiah 
outrage and support a party w^hich carries its 
elections only by intimidation, I answer that we 
yield to none in our condemnation of these acts. 
But before all things we will be just, and not 
charge upon the whole South acts which belong 
to one or two small communities alone. Our Re- 
publican critics know, and know it as well as any 
men livina:, that these occurrences could not have 
been prevented by any action of the Federal Gov- 
ernment. If they could why was there no inter- 
ference at the last general election? 

No, gentlemen : the truth is that time and edu- 
cation and the influences of Christianitv must be 
relied upon to prevent these crimes. None can 
deny, and ought not to fail to recognize, that such 
occurrences as those at Copiah, once so common, 
are now exceptional. But, however that may be, 
we are not to be turned from our plain and obvious 
duty by appeals to sectional feeling or our sympa- 
thies. We do not give up our right to condemn 
outrages in the South any more than our right to 
condemn political dishonesty. 

Let us declare that we stand together, and that 
we ask our fellow-citizens to join us, to make our 
protest effectual against Mr. Blaine's election. Let 
us try to impress upon the voters by our words 
and acts that political straightforwardness is better 
than political success, and w^hen we have done our 
work here let us go to our homes and use such in- 
fluence as we have to further the cause wdiich we 
conceive to be the cause of our country. (Long- 
continued cheering.) 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CAMPAIGN OF 1884. 

How THE Nomination was Received — Favored by the 
"Independents" — Breaking Old Party Ties — The Press 
GIVING Support — Organizing for the Campaign — Prepa- 
rations for a Gigantic Struggle — Approval of the 
Democratic Platform — Uprising against Political Cor- 
ruption — Tricks and Scandals — Popularity of Mr. 
Cleveland's Competitor — The Question not Confined to 
Men — Party Accusations — Feeling running High — False- 
hood and Vituperation — Doubt of Result as the Cam- 
paign NEARED its ClOSE — SUSPENSE AFTER THE ELECTION — 

All Depending on New York — Cleveland's Majority 
AND Election — Some Significant Figures. 

The nomination of Cleveland and Hendricks 
was received with great fiivor by the Democratic 
Party throughout the whole country. From the 
Lakes to the Gulf, from the Atlantic to the Golden 
Gate, the air rang with acclamations. Public 
meetings, bonfires and booming guns ratified the 
work of the convention. Immediately there was 
the stir which tells of a lively presidential 
campaign. 

As may be seen by the despatches of congratula- 
tion sent to Mr. Cleveland, his nomination was 
approved by many who had not before trained in 
the ranks of the Democratic Party. Men broke 

L (161) 



162 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELANa 

away from their old political faith. The "inde- 
pendent" spirit showed itself at once. It was evi- 
dent that the old party would remain solid and 
would receive new and valuable accessions. It 
requires some great impulse to break the cords that 
hold men to a party for which, through many years 
— ^years of excitement and conflict — they have 
worked and voted and struggled. Our national 
spirit and institutions are such as to make every 
man think and act upon his own private account. 
A true American is something more than a tool ; 
he looks at questions with his own eyes ; he holds 
the balances and does his own weighing; he treats 
his honest convictions Avith the respect all such 
convictions should receive ; and in crises affecting 
his own and the public weal, he " appeals to Caesar," 
and Ccesar is himself. 

This was fully illustrated in the campaign fol- 
lowing Mr. Cleveland's nomination. He stood at 
once in the front of a large array of men who were 
dot displeased with an opportunity to show they 
ivere not the slaves of party. Many newspapers 
Ihat had not formed a part of the political forces 
tvhich Mr. Cleveland represented, now gave assent, 
and others came forward with enthusiastic support. 

The work of orizanization beiran with "rreat ac' 
tivity. Cities, villages, hamlets, four-corners, one 
might almost say, formed clubs, and prepared for 
the fight. There was no disposition to underesti- 
mate the gravity of the undertaking. A great 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 163 

party had been in power for many years; it had 
all the glory of prestige and past success ; its 
achievements had become a part of the nation's 
history; it sat in high places and did not mean to 
be dispossessed ; it was manned by officers of singu- 
lar ability, shrewdness and courage ; its " Plumed 
Knight" who led the compact host was conspicuous 
for the magnetic power and resistless personal in- 
fluence which move masses of men, and inspire 
them to action. 

It was understood in the early part of the cam- 
paign that Mr. Cleveland would not "stump" the 
country, that he would make few speeches, that he 
would attend strictly to his duties at Albany, and 
would submit the case to the calm judgment and 
deliberate action of the American people. 

The platform adopted by the Democratic Conven- 
tion was quite as generally approved as were the 
nominations. One after another its solid planks 
were put in, and the wisest men believed the tim- 
ber was good. A special point was made of civil 
service reform, for there was a wide-spread convic- 
tion that such reform was imperatively demanded. 
Good men and true had long tried to amend the 
methods by which the affairs of the administration 
at Washington were conducted. Political corrup- 
tion was charged by those who could have had no 
selfish interest in framing so grave an indictment, 
no personal wish to gratify, no political end to 
gain. This unrest arising from what were openly 



164 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

charged as corrupt practices, permitted for the 
benefit of time servers and politicians who fattened 
on the spoils of office,^ had much to do with the 
overturning of the machine which had been running 
without interruption or check for nearly a quarter 
of a century. It was said that the Independent 
Republicans, who broke away from ^' the grand old 
party," w^ere '' political sore-heads," that they were 
chronic growlers, self-opinionated. Democrats at 
heart, traitors to their own organization, and foes 
of the nation. Yet free action continued, new com- 
binations of men and ideas sprang up, and as 
Napoleon, marching with his army, marked new 
boundaries for empires, so the map of politics was 
readjusted. 

With so much of the independent spirit abroad, 
with such an uprising of the Democracy as was 
kindled by the hope of success, it may easily be 
seen that all the forces were at work to bring about 
a very lively campaign. The heat rose with tiie 
advancing months. Every presidential election in 
our country is a spectacle peculiarly impressive. 
The great heart of the nation is stirred. A tremor 
is in the very air, a something which tells that 
vital questions are at issue. Fifty millions of 
people awakened, swept by great waves of senti- 
ment and feeling as gales move the sea — this is 
morally sublime. The two parties faced each other 
in battle array. If drums, horns, banners, pro- 
cessions, speeches, barbacues, shouts, floods of 



STEPHEN GHOYEU CLEVELAND. 165 

political documents, loud talk, could have won the 
day, it would have been difficult to say which side 
was to be successful, but other elements entered 
into that campaign, and insured Mr. Cleveland's 
election. 

Of course, during the progress of those exciting 
days party tricks were called into play, one scandal 
was swept from the air only to be succeeded by 
another, the most astounding statements were 
trumpeted as if they were unchallenged truths, 
lower and lower sank the press in the agonizing 
effort to defeat the foe ; in short all the trickery, 
falsifying, and swelling pretension which unfor- 
tunately come out in periods of great political 
excitement, characterized the busy summer and 
autumn of 1884. 

For a long time it was asserted that Mr. Blaine 
was sure to be elected. He was immensely popu- 
lar with the Republicans. He strode the field with 
majestic tread. He was able to command a large 
personal following, and he had the dash and mag- 
netism which always arouse enthusiasm. His 
brain was fertile and his tongue was ready. He 
went from point to point in his electioneering tours, 
and addressed vast assemblages of people. He had 
proved his brilliant capacities on many occasions. 
Under the dome of the Capitol he had held the 
Speaker's gavel in one house of Congress, and had 
occupied a seat in the other. He had been selected 
by President Garfield to fill the most responsible 



166 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

position in his Cabinet. For courage, readiness, 
eloquence, magnificent leadership, he stood unri- 
valled. 

Mr. Blaine was not a weak antagonist, but the 
question was not merely as to men. For solid 
qualities, bold action, the courage that knows liow 
to do right, fidelity to duty, Mr. Cleveland stood 
second to no one. His election was a greater vic- 
tory from the fact that he had such a brilliant 
statesman and formidable party to contend with. 
As the campaign approached its termination the 
fever grew intense. Desperate measures were 
brought into requisition. Men made damaging 
statements, and swore to them. High Heaven was 
appealed to that the people might be convinced. 
Affidavits crammed the newspapers. It was judged 
to be all important that the personal character of 
Governor Cleveland should be darkened. As usual 
in the excitement preceding a national election, 
serious charges were made, and supported by long 
arrays of proofs. These attacks upon Mr. Cleve- 
land were boldly denied, notwithstanding the 
positiveness with which they had been made. In 
the heat of partisanship some men maintained that 
the private life of a nominee for any office was not 
public property, and no one had a right to un- 
cover it. 

We state these things as simple matters of 
history. It is only needful to remember that 
much said during a political campaign should be 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 167 

taken with marked degrees of allowance. This is 
a good rule to observe, and has more justice in it 
than the disposition to believe everything that is 
damaging to an opponent. There is always a sus- 
picious number of lies and exaggerations afloat 
during a political canvass. When you get at the 
real truth, instead of " three black crows," it was 
only ^" something as black as a crow." 

Tlie last days of the campaign were clouded 
watli doubt. Each partj^ w^as confident of success, 
or at least expressed itself so. There was a mist 
which darkened vision. No one could foresee how 
the election would go. New York, the pivotal 
State, was an uncertain quantity. It was Mr. 
Cleveland's native State; his strength when elected 
Governor had surprised even his friends ; his wise 
silence during the campaign and strict attention to 
duty had not lost him any degree of favor, and 
while it w^as understood that he could not hope to 
receive anything like the majority that elevated 
him to the chair of Governor, it was hoped he 
would run ahead of the Republican ticket. 

The day of destiny in November came and 
passed. The next morning the country was in as 
much doubt as before ; no one knew how the 
struggle had terminated. The Republicans boldly 
claimed a victory. Soon congratulations poured in 
upon " the man from Maine." It began to look 
as if the man at Albany were the one wdio should 
receive the congratulations. A state of uncer- 



168 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

tainty reigned, and on every hand there were 
alternations of hope and disappointment. Proces- 
sions parading the streets to celebrate the triumph 
of one party met processions celebrating the 
triumph of the other. 

Finally people said, " Let us wait for the official 
count." It was known how nearly every State 
had gone except New York. There was a sus- 
pense that was intense, but the general sentiment 
of the country called for an honest decision, and 
showed a determination to abide by it. What the 
ballot-box had to say was eagerly awaited. That 
held the important secret. The nation had signed 
and sealed its reverseless decree. In some old 
countries, infested with revolutionary elements, 
such days of waiting would have been days of 
danger, but in the United States majorities rule, 
and the only concern is to ascertain the majority 
and learn what is the actual verdict. 

At length the verdict came. New York had 
settled the gigantic contest by the meagre majority 
of 1,149. If it had been so many thousands in- 
stead of units the decision would not have been 
more definite, nor the result more sure. Grover 
Cleveland was elected to the presidency of the 
United States, and the great party with its splendid 
organization, its honored names, its vast patronage, 
its powerful sway extending over a period of twenty- 
four years, which had ruled through war and peace, 
was to resign its trust. The perturbed elements 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEYELAND. 169 

grew quiet. The Democrats, who had clung to 
their old-time principles and traditions, and through 
so many defeats had kept their faith, saw at last 
the end of their struggle and the consummation of 
their hopes. Their chosen leader had more than 
vindicated the confidence placed in him. The 
verdict at the polls meant that all the old safe- 
guards of constitutional law and liberty were to 
be preserved, that sectional strife was to cease, that 
official trust was to be used for the people and the 
people alone, that the civil service was to be ele- 
vated and purified, that the administration of public 
affairs was to be in new hands pledged to unflinch- 
ing honesty. The feeling that no party can be in 
power long without becoming more or less corrupt 
found satisfaction in the fact that the government 
was to be administered under new auspices. It 
was believed that the country would live and 
prosper. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PRESIDENT Cleveland's inauguration. 

Imposing Ceremonies — Profound Interest in the New 
Administration — Large Gathering at the Capital — All 
Classes Represented — Fine Civic Display — Bk.\utifi:l 
Emblems — Superb Floral Ladder — Inaugural Address— 
A Great and Sacred Trust — No Apology Needed for 
Democrahc Principles — Sectional Prejudice should be 
Abandoned — Devotion to the Constitution — Public Ser- 
vants to be Vigilantly Watched — Expenditures to be 
Limited — No Departure from Established Foreign 
Policy — Finances to be Placed on a Sound Basis — 
The Indians— Freedmen — Civil Service — Forjiation of 
the New Cabinet. 

The ceremonies attendino; the inaumiration of 
President are always impressive. The will of the 
people has been expressed. Every township in 
the land has declared its choice. From myriad 
homes and firesides men have gone forth, clothed 
with the sovereign power of the franchise. Si- 
lently the great decision has been made, amidst 
suppressed excitement, and the result has agitated 
the nation. 

Naturally the departure of the Republican ad- 
ministration and the return of the Democratic 
Party to power after so many years of exile from 

the highest seats in the Councils of the Republic 

(170) 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 171 

awakened a profound interest. As the 4th of 
March, 1885, approached, eyes were turned toward 
Washington, and multitudes went up to the Capi- 
tal as to a Mecca. There was the old sturdy voter 
who had stood for half a century in his faith, never 
swerving, never denying his record, never yielding 
to the seductive persuasions of the opposite side. 
There was the old wire-puller, the man who makes 
a business of politics, and who, if he does not ob- 
tain office, goes right on trying to get it, just the 
same. There was the tried statesman, the man of 
afiairs, with brain to grasp the situation, genius to 
plan, and courage to execute. There was the man 
who had been hungry for office, and now saw, as 
he thought, a grand chance to grasp the dear prize. 
There was the gifted woman, able to grace any 
drawing-room, any public occasion. All wended 
their way to the Capital, and their name was legion. 
From all parts of our vast country they came, and 
every face wore an expression of satisfaction and 
beamed with expectation. Washington itself, ac- 
customed to civic displays, exciting events, and 
magnificent parades, was more than usually awak- 
ened, and an interest was exhibited in the inaugu- 
ration which overshadowed all other concerns. 
The representatives of the press throughout the 
country were there in full force, to record the great 
events, and depict the scene in its imposing aspects. 
Mr. Cleveland's nomination and election to the 
first office in the gift of the American people was 



172 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

ji sequence illustrative of the elementary principles 
of our Republic and a vindication of its durability. 
The ceremonies incident upon the inauguration 
presented a pageant exceeding in civic and civil 
display any such preceding occasion in the history 
of the government. There were in attendance 
more than one hundred thousand visitors, and the 
city in its profuse decorations was a bewildering 
maze of bright colors. Among the significant alle- 
gorical designs was a great floral ladder reaching 
to the roof of a business house on Pennsylvania 
Avenue, which bore upon its rungs the words, 
*' Sheriff," "Mayor/' "Governor," "President," 
thus graphically symbolizing the life-work of the 
President-elect. 

The inaugural of President Cleveland is marked 
by singular dignity and simplicity. Its force and 
significance lie in the individuality of its author. 
A conviction is enforced that he is "of the people 
and for the people," the common good being his 
paramount inspiration. It was as follows : 

''Fellow- Citizens : 

" In the presence of this vast assemblage of my 
countrymen I am about to supplement and seal by 
the oath whicii I shall take the manifestation of 
tiie will of a great and free people. In the exer- 
cise of their power and right of self-government 
they have connnitted to one of their fellow-citizens 
a supreme and sacred trust, and he here consecrates 
himself to their service. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 173 

" This impressive ceremony adds little to the 
solemn sense of responsibility with which I con- 
template the duty I owe to all the people of the 
land. Nothing can relieve me from anxiety lest 
by any act of mine their interests may suffer, and 
nothing is needed to strengthen my resolution to 
engage every faculty and effort in the promotion 
of their welfare. 

"Amid the din of party strife the people's choice 
was made, but its attendant circumstances have 
demonstrated anew the strength and* safety of a 
government by the people. In each succeeding 
year it more clearly appears that our democratic 
principle needs no apology, and that in its fearless 
and faithful application is to be found the surest 
guaranty of good government. But the best results 
in the operation of a government, wherein every 
citizen has a share, largely depend upon a proper 
limitation of purely partisan zeal and effort and a 
correct appreciation of the time w^hen the heat of 
the partisan should be merged in the patriotism of 
the citizen. 

"To-day the executive branch of the government 
is transferred to new keeping. But this is still the 
government of all the people, and it should be 
none the less an object of affectionate solicitude. 
At this hour the animosities of political strife, the 
bitterness of partisan defeat and the exultation of 
partisan triumph should be supplanted by an un- 
grudging acquiescence in the popular will and a 
sober, conscientious concern for the general weal. 
Moreover, if from this hour we cheerfully and 
honestly abandon all sectional prejudice and dis- 
trust and determine, with manly confidence in one 
another, to work out harmoniously the achieve- 



174 STi.rnKN g rover Cleveland. 

ments of our nntionnl destiny, W2 shall deserve to 
realize all the benefits which our happy form of 
government can bestow. 

" On this auspicious occasion we may w^ell renew 
the pledge of our devotion to the Constitution, 
which, launched by the founders of the Republic 
and consecrated hy their prayers and patriotic de- 
votion, has for almost a century borne the hopes 
and the aspirations of a great people through pros- 
perity and peace and through the shock of foreign 
conflicts and the perils of domestic strife and vicis- 
situdes. By the Father of his Country our Con- 
stitution was commended for adoption as ' the 
result of a spirit of amity and mutual concession.' 
In that same spirit it should be administered, in 
order to promote the lasting w^elfare of the country 
and to secure the full measure of its priceless ben- 
efits to us and to those who will succeed to the 
blessings of our national life. The large variety 
of diverse and competing interests subject to Fed- 
eral control, persistently seeking the recognition 
of their claims, need give us no fear that ' the 
greatest good to the greatest number' will fail to be 
accomplished if, in the halls of national legislation, 
that spirit of amity and mutual concession shall 
prevail in which the Constitution had its birth. 
If this involves the surrender or postponement of 
private interests and the abandonment of local 
advantages, compensation will be found in the 
assurance that thus the common interest is sub- 
served and the general welfare advanced. 

" In the discharge of my official duty I shall 
endeavor to be guided by a just and unstrained 
construction of tlie Constitution, a careful ob- 
servance of the distinction between the powers 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 175 

granted to the Federal Government and those re- 
served to the States or to the people, and by a 
cautious appreciation of those functions which, by 
the Constitution and hiws, have been especially 
assigned to the Executive branch of the govern- 
ment. 

" But he who takes the oath to-day to preserve, 
protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States only assumes the solemn oblisration which 
every patriotic citizen, on the farm, in the work- 
shop, in the busy marts of trade and everywhere, 
should share with him. The Constitution which 
prescribes his oath, my countrymen, is yours; the 
government you have chosen him to administer for 
a time is yours; the suifrage which executes the 
will of freemen is yours; the laws and the entire 
scheme of our civil rule, from the town meeting to 
the State Capitols and the National Capitol, are 
yours. Your every voter, as surely as your Chief 
Magistrate, under the same high sanction, though 
in a different sphere, exercises a public trust. Noi 
is this all. Everj- citizen owes to the country a 
vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its public ser- 
vants and a fair and reasonable estimate of their 
fidelity and usefulness. Thus is the people's will 
impressed upon the whole framework of our civil 
polity — municipal, State and Federal — and this is 
the price of our liberty and the inspiration of our 
faith in the Republic. 

" It is the duty of those serving the people in 
public place to closely limit public expenditures to 
the actual needs of the government, economically 
administered, because this bounds the right of the 
government to exact tribute from the earnings of 
labor or the property of the citizen, and because 



176 STEPHEN" GROVER CLEVELAND. 

public extravagance begets extravagance among 
the people. We should never be ashamed of the 
simplicity and prudential economies which are 
best suited to the operation of a republican form of 
government and most compatible with the mission 
of the American people. Those who are selected 
for a limited time to manage public affairs are still 
of the people, and may do much by their example 
to encourage, consistently with the dignity of their 
official functions, that plain way of life which 
among their fellow-citizens aids integrity and pro- 
motes thrift and prosperity. 

" The genius of our institutions, the needs of our 
people in their home life, and the attention which 
is demanded for the settlement and development of 
the resources of our vast territory, dictate the scru- 
pulous avoidance of any departure from that foreign 
policy commended by the history, the traditions 
and the prosperity of our Republic. It is the policy 
of independence, favored by our position and de- 
fended by our known love of justice and by our 
power. It is the polic}^ of peace, suitable to our 
interests. It is the policy of neutrality, rejecting 
finy share in foreign broils and ambitions upon 
other continents, and repelling their intrusion here. 
It is the policy of Monroe and of Washington and 
Jefferson : ' Peace, commerce and honest friend- 
ship with all nations; entangling alliances with 
none.' 

"A due regard for the interests and prosperity 
of all the people demand that our finances shall be 
established upon sucli a sound and sensible basis as 
shall secure the safety and confidence of business 
interests and make the wage of labor sure and 
steady, and that our system of revenue shall be so 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 177 

adjusted as to relieve the people from unnecessary 
taxation, having a due regard to the interests of 
capital invested and workingmen employed in 
American industries, and preventing the accumu- 
hition of a surplus in the treasury to tempt ex- 
travagance and waste. Care for the property of 
the nation and for the needs of future settlers 
requires that the puhlic domain should be pro- 
tected from purloining schemes and unlawful occu- 
pation. 

'' The conscience of the people demands that the 
Indians within our boundaries shall be fairly and 
honestly treated as wards of the government, and 
their education and civilization promoted, with a 
view to their ultimate citizenship; and that 
polygamy in the Territories, destructive of the 
family relation and offensive to the moral sense of 
the civilized world, shall be repressed. The laws 
should be rigidly enforced which prohibit the im- 
migration of a servile class to compete with Amer- 
ican labor, with no intention of acquiring citizen- 
ship, and bringing wdth them and retaining habits 
and customs repugnant to our civilization. 

" The people demand reform in the administra- 
tion of the government and the ^application of 
business principles to public affairs. As a means 
to this end civil service reform should be in good 
faith enforced. Our citizens hav^ the right to pro- 
tection from the incompetency of public employes 
who hold their places solely as the reward of par- 
tisan service, and from the corrupting influence of 
those who promise and the vicious methods of those 
who expect such rewards. And those whoAvorthily 
seek public employment have the right to insist 
that merit and competency shall be recognized in- 



178 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

stead of party subserviency or the surrender of 
honest political belief. 

*' In the administration of a government pledged 
to do equal and exact justice to all men there 
should be no pretext for anxiety touching the pro- 
tection of the freedmen in their rio^hts or their 
security in the enjoyment of their privileges under 
the Constitution and its amendments. All discus- 
sion as to their fitness for the place accorded to 
them as American citizens is idle and unprofitable, 
except as it suggests the necessity for their im- 
provement. The fict that they are citizens en- 
titles them to all the rights due to that relation 
and charges them with all its duties, obligations 
and responsibilities. 

''These topics and the constant and ever-varying 
wants of an active and enterprising population may 
well receive the attention and the patriotic en- 
deavor of all who make and execute the Federal 
law. Our duties are practical and call for indus- 
trious application, an intelligent perception of tlie 
claims of public office, and, above all, a firm deter- 
mination, by united action, to secure to all the 
people of the land the full benefits of the best form 
of government ever vouchsafed to man. And let 
us not trust to human efibrt alone, but humbly 
acknowledging the power and goodness of Almighty 
God, who presides over the destiny of nations and 
who has at all times been revealed in our country's 
history, let us invoke His aid and His blessing 
upon our labors." 

THE NEW CABINET. 

In the selection of his Cabinet President Cleve- 
land, it is felt, was actuated by just considerations 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 179 

of capacity and geographical distribution. The 
ability and eminent fitness for their positions of 
several of its members are patent. 

The Cabinet was composed as follows : Thomas 
Francis Bayard, of Delaware, Secretary of State ; 
Daniel Manning, of New York, Secretary of the 
Treasury; Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi, 
Secretary of the Interior ; Augustus H. Garland, 
of Arkansas, Attorney-General ; William Crownin- 
shield Endicott, of Massachusetts, Secretary of 
War; William F. Vilas, of Wisconsin, Postmaster- 
General ; William Collins Whitney, of New York, 
Secretary of the Navy. 



CHAPTER X. 

PRESIDENT Cleveland's administration. 

A Positive Character at the White House— An Eye to 
THE Public Good — The President's Marriage — Mrs. 
Cleveland's Popular Qualities — Tariff Question — Last 
Message — Public Treasury Endangered — What shall be 

DONE WITH THE SuRPLUS — KeSTORING MoNEY TO THE PEO- 
PLE — Purchasing Bonds — Private Business and Public 
Funds— Scheme of Taxation — Bad Tariff Laws— Pre- 
serving Manufactures — Workingmen and their Inter- 
ests — Wages and Prices — The Real Issue— The Farmers 
AND their Farms — Tax on Wool — Vicious Combinations — 
A Difficult Work— A^ Question above Partisan Feel- 
ing — How THE Message was received by the Country. 

Mr. Cleveland entered courageously upon the 
duties of his office. He showed at once his re- 
markable power of rising to every occasion, and 
proved his ability to meet every reasonable ex- 
pectation. It was soon evident that a man, not a 
party tool, was installed at the White House. In 
the difficult undertaking of forming a Cabinet, and 
appointing the various Government officers, his 
cool judgment and wise discretion were conspicu- 
ous. He had no hope of pleasing everybody; his 
work would have been a failure if he had done it. 
He meant to serve the interests of his country, 
and do what was right. 
(180) 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 181 

Up to the second year of his administration 
President Clevehmd had lived the life of a bach- 
elor. He had not found the time to marry, even 
if he had possessed the disposition. His faithful 
sister, Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, accompanied him 
to the White House, and presided there with grace- 
ful dignity. It began to be rumored, however, that 
the President intended to complete the agencies for 
a successful administration by taking a wife. The 
busy bodies had a grand opportunity; they were in 
great luck. More and more the rumor gained cur- 
rency, newspaper correspondents nursed it, the 
country breakfasted on it every morning. Wash- 
in f^rton society was in a flutter. 

On the 2d of June, 1886, President Cleveland 
was married at the White House to Miss Frances 
Folsom of Buffalo, Rev. Byron Sunderland, D. D., 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Wash- 
ington, performing the ceremony. 

Mrs. Cleveland has filled her high station with 
marked success, and has endeared herself to all 
who have had the pleasure of making her ac- 
quaintance. Although young, she is womanly, 
and appears to be endowed with a ripeness much 
beyond her years. It is universally conceded that 
she possesses every needed qualification for presid- 
ing over the Executive Mansion. 

As w^as to be expectedj the tariff question has 
occupied a large share of the attention of Congress 
since 1884. While President Cleveland in his 



182 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

messages has dealt with a number of important 
matters, his utterances on the tariff and financial 
affairs of the country have attracted universal 
attentio-n. His last message was so bold, clear 
and vvc'ghty that we present it entire, considering 
that we cannot render a more signal service to the 
reader. 

MESSiGE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTIETH 
CONGRESS, DI'XEMBER, 1887. 

"To tlu Congress of the United States: 

" Yovi are confronted at the threshold of your 
legislative duties with a condition of the national 
finances which imperatively demands immediate 
and careful consideration. 

" The amount of money annually exacted, 
through the operation of present laws, from the 
industries and necessities of the people, largely 
exceeds the sum necessary to meet the expenses 
of the Government. 

"When we consider that the theorv of our insti- 
tutions guarantees to every citizen the full enjoy- 
ment of all the fruits of his industry and enter- 
prise, with only such deduction as may be his 
share towards the careful and economical main- 
tenance of the Government which protects him, 
it is plain that the exaction of more than this is 
indefensible extortion, and a culpable betrayal of 
American fairness and justice. This wrong inllicted 
upon those who bear tlie burden of national taxa- 
tion, like other wrongs, multiplies a brood of evil 
consequences. The public treasury, which should 
only exist as a conduit conveying the people's trib- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 183 

ute to its legitimate objects of expenditure, becomes 
a hoarding-place for mone^/- needlessly withdrawn 
from trade and the people's use, thus crippling our 
national energies, suspending our country's develop- 
ment, preventing investment in productive enter- 
prise, threatening financial disturbance, and invit- 
ing schemes of public plunder. 

DANGERS THREATENING THE PUBLIC TREASURY. 

" This condition of our treasury is not altogether 
new ; and it has more than once of late been sub- 
mitted to the people's representatives in the Con- 
gress, who alone can apply a remedy. And yet 
the situation still continues, with ajjirravated inci- 
dents, more than ever presaging financial convul- 
sion and wide-spread disaster. 

^' It will not do to neglect this situation because 
its dangers are not now palpably imminent and 
apparent. They exist none the less certainly, and 
await the unforeseen and unexpected occasion when 
suddenly they will be precipitated upon us. 

"On the 30th day of June, 1885, the excess of 
revenues over public expenditures, after complying 
with the annual requirement of the sinking-fund 
act, was $17,859,735.84; during the year ended 
June 30, 1886, such excess amounted to $49,40''),- 
545.20 ; and during the year ended June 30, 1887, 
it reached the sum of $55,567,849.54. 

"The annual contributions to the sinking-fund 
during the three years above specified, amounting 
in the aggregate to $138,058,320.94, and deducted 
from the surplus as stated, were made by calling 
in for that purpose outstanding three per cent, 
bonds of the Government. During the six months 
prior to June 30, 1887, the surplus revenue had 



184 STEPIlEx\ GPvOVER CLEVELAND. 

grown so large by repeated accumulations, and it 
was feared the withdrawal of this great sum of 
money needed by the people would so nffect the 
busineGs of the country, that the sum of $79,864,- 
100 of such surplus was applied to the payment 
of the principal and interest of the three per cent, 
bonds still outstanding, and which were then pay- 
able at the option of the Government. The pre- 
carious condition of financial affairs among the 
people still needing relief, immediately after the 
30th day of June, 1887, the remainder of the 
three per cent, bonds then outstanding, amounting 
witli principal and interest to the sum of $18,877,- 
600, were called in and applied to the sinking-i'und 
contribution for the current fiscal 3'ear. Notwith- 
standing these operations of the Treasury Depart- 
ment representations of distress in business circles 
not only continued, but increased, and absolute 
peril seemed at hand. In these circumstances the 
contribution to the sinkinir-fund for the current 
fiscal year was at once completed by the expendi- 
ture of $27,084,283.55 in the purchase of Govern- 
ment bonds not yet due bearing four and four and 
a half per cent, interest, the premium paid thereon 
averaging about twenty-four per cent, for the for- 
mer and eight per cent, for the latter. In addition 
to this the interest accruing during the current 
year upon the outstanding bonded indebtedness of 
the Government was to some extent anticipated, 
and banks selected as depositories of public money 
were permitted to somewhat increase their deposits. 

SURPLUS REVENUE. 

"While the expedients thus employed, to reiease 
to the people the money lying idle in the treasury, 



STEPHEN GKOVEK CLEVELAND. 185 

served to avert immediate danger, our surplus 
revenues have continued to accumulate, the excess 
for the present year amounting on tlie 1st day of 
December to $55,258,701.19, and estimated to 
reach the sum of $113,000,000 on the 30th of 
June next, at which date it is expected that this 
sum, added to prior accumulations, will swell the 
surplus in the treasury to $140,000,000. 

" There seems to be no assurance that, with such 
a withdrawal from use of the people's circulating 
medium, our business community may not in the 
near future be subjected to the same distress which 
was quite lately produced from the same cause. 
And while the functions of our National Treasury 
should be few and simple, and while its best con- 
dition would be reached, I believe, by its entire 
disconnection with private business interests, yet 
when, by a perversion of its purposes, it idly holds 
money uselessly subtracted from the channels of 
trade, there seems to be reason for the claim that 
some legitimate means should be devised by the 
Government to restore in an emergency, without 
waste or extravagance, suclw money to its place 
among the people. 

" If such an emergency arises there now exists 
no clear and undoubted executive power of relief 
Heretofore the redemption of three per cent, bonds, 
which were payable at the option of the Govern- 
ment, has afforded a means for the disbursement 
of the excess of our revenues ; but these bonds 
have all been retired, and there are no bonds out- 
standing the payment of which we have the right 
to insist upon. The contribution to the sinking- 
fund which furnishes the occasion for expenditure 
in the purchase of bonds has been already made 



186 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

for the current year, so that there is no outlet in 
that direction. 

HOW THE SURPLUS IS TO BE RESTORED TO THE 

PEOPLE. 

" In the present state of legislation the only 
pretence of any existing executive power to re- 
store, at this time, any part of our surplus 
revenues to the people by its expenditure, con- 
sists in the supposition that the Secretary of the 
Treasury may enter the market and purchase the 
bonds of the Government not yet due, at a rate of 
premium to be agreed upon. The only provision 
of law from which such a power could be derived 
is found in an appropriation bill passed a number 
of years ago; and it is subject to the suspicion 
that it was intended as temporary and limited in 
its application, instead of conferring a continuing 
discretion and authority. No condition ought to 
exist which would justify the grant of power to a 
single official, upon his judgment of its necessity, 
to withhold from or release to the business of the 
people, in an unusual manner, money held in the 
treasury, and thus affect, at his will, the financial 
situation of the country; and if it is deemed wise 
to lodge in the Secretary of the Treasury the 
authority in the present juncture to purchase 
bonds, it should be plainly vested, and provided as 
far as possible, with such checks and limitations as 
will define this official's right and discretion, and 
at the same time relieve him from undue responsi- 
bility. 

" In considering the question of purchasing 
bonds as a means of restoring to circulation the 
surplus money accumulating in the treasury, it 



STEPHEN GROA^ER CLEVELAND. 187 

should be borne in mind that premiums must of 
course be paid upon such purchase, that there may 
be a large part of these bonds held as investments 
which cannot be purchased at any price, and that 
combinations among holders who are willing to 
sell may unreasonably enhance the cost of such 
bonds to the Government. 

" It has been suggested that the present bonded 
debt might be refunded at a less rate of interest, 
and the difference between the old and new security 
paid in cash, thus finding use for the surplus in the 
Treasury. The success of this plan, it is apparent, 
must depend upon the volition of the holders of 
the present bonds; and it is not entirely certain 
that the inducement which must be offered them 
would result in more financial benefit to the Gov- 
ernment than the purchase of bonds, while the 
latter proposition would reduce the principal of 
the debt by actual payment, instead of extend- 
ing it. 

OBJECTIONABLE PROPOSITION. 

" The proposition to deposit the money held by 
the Government in banks throughout the country, 
for use by the people, is, it seems to me, exceed- 
ingly objectionable in principle, as establishing too 
close a relationship between the operations of the 
Government Treasury and the business of the 
country, and too extensive a commingling of their 
money, thus fostering an unnatural reliance in 
private business upon public funds. If this scheme 
should be adopted it should only be done as a tem- 
porar}^ expedient to meet an urgent necessity. 
Legislative and executive effort should generally 
be in the opposite direction and should have a 



188 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

tendency to divorce, as much and as fast as can 
safely be done, the. Treasury Department from pri- 
vate enterprise. 

"Of course it is not expected that unnecessary 
and extravagant appropriations will be made for 
the purpose of avoiding the accumulation of an 
excess of revenue. Such expenditure, beside the 
demoralization of all just conceptions of public 
duty which it entails, stimulates a habit of reck- 
less improvidence not in the least consistent with 
the mission of our people or the high and beneficent 
purposes of our Government. 

'' I have deemed it my duty to thus bring to the 
knowledge of my countrymen, as w^ell as to the 
attention of their representatives charged with the 
responsibility of legislative relief, the gravity, of 
our financial situation. The failure of the Con- 
gress heretofore to provide against the dangers 
which it w^as quite evident the very nature of the 
difficulty must necessarily produce, caused a con- 
dition of financial distress and apprehension since 
your last adjournment, which taxed to the utmost 
all the autliority and expedients within executive 
control; and these appear now to be exhausted. 
If disaster results from the continued inaction of 
Congress, the responsibility must rest where it 
beloncrs. 

o 

SCHEME OF TAXATION. 

"Though the situation thus far considered is 
frauiiht with dan2:er which should be fullv realized, 
and though it presents features of wrong to the 
people as well as peril to the country, it is but a 
result growing out of a perfectly palpable and ap- 
parent cause, constantly reproducing the same 



STEPHEN G ROVER CLEVELAND. 189 

alarmins: circumstances — a coiisrcsted national 
treasury and a depleted monetary condition in the 
business of the country. It need bardlv be stated 
that while tlie present situation demands a remedj^, 
we can only be saved from a like predicament in- 
the future by the removal of its cause. 

" Our scheme of taxation, by means of which 
this needless surplus is taken from the people and 
put into the public treasury, consists of a tariff or 
duty levied upon importations from abroad, and 
internal revenue taxes levied upon the consum.p- 
tion of tobacco and spirituous and malt liquors. 
It must be conceded that none of the things sub- 
jected to internal revenue taxation are, strictly 
speaking, necessaries; there appears to be no just 
complaint of this taxation by the consumers of 
these articles, and there seems to be nothing so 
well able to bear the burden without hardship to 
any portion of the people. 

VICIOUS TARIFF LAWS. 

" But our present tariff laws, the vicious, in- 
equitable, and illogical source of unnecessary taxa- 
tion, oug^ht to be at once revised and amended. 
These laws, as their primary and plain effect, raise 
the price to consumers of all articles imported and 
subject to duty, by precisely the sum paid for such 
duties. Thus the amount of the duty measures 
the tax paid by those who purchase for use these 
imported articles. Many of these things, however, 
are raised or manufactured in our own country, and 
the duties now levied upon foreign goods and 
products are called protection to these home man- 
ufactures, because they render it possible for those 
of our people who aremanufacturers to make these 



190 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELANa 

taxed articles and sell them for a price equal to 
that demanded for the imported goods that have 
paid customs duty. So it happens that while com- 
paratively a few use the imported articles, millions 
of our people, who never use and never saw any of 
the foreign products, purchase and use things of 
the same kind made in this countr}', and pay 
therefor nearly or quite the same enhanced price 
which the duty adds to the imported articles. 
Those who buy imports pay the duty charged 
thereon into the public treasury, but the great 
majority of our citizens, who buy domestic articles 
of the same class, pay a sum at least approximately 
equal to this duty to the home manufiicturer. 
This reference to the operation of our tariff laws 
is not made by way of instruction, but in order 
that we may be constantly reminded of the manner 
in which they impose a burden upon those who 
consume domestic products as well as those who 
consume imported articles, and thus create a tax 
upon all our people. 

OUR MANUFACTURING INTERESTS iMUST BE PRESERVED. 

'"' It is not proposed to entirely relieve the country 
of this taxation. It must be extensively continued 
as the source of the Government's income ; and in 
a readjustment of our tariff the interests of Amer- 
ican labor engaged in manufacture should be care- 
fully considered, as well as the preservation of our 
manuf^icturers. It may be called protection, or by 
any other name, but relief from the hardships and 
dangers of our present tariff laws, should be de- 
vised with especial precaution against imperiling 
the existence of our manufacturing interests. But 
this existence should not mean a condition which, 



STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 191 

without regard to the public welfare or a national 
exigency, must always insure the realization of 
immense profits instead of moderately profitable 
returns. As the volume and diversity of our na- 
tional activities increase, new recruits are added to 
those who desire a continuation of the advantages 
which they conceive the present system of tariff 
taxation directly affords them. So stubbornly have 
all efforts to reform the present condition been re- 
sisted by those of our fellow-citizens thus engaged, 
that they can hardly complain of the suspicion, 
entertained to a certain extent, that there exists an 
organized combination all along the line to maintain 
their advantage. 

•* We are in the midst of centennial celebrations, 
and with becoming pride we rejoice in American 
skill and ingenuity, in American energy and enter- 
prise, and in the wonderful natural advantages and 
resources developed by a century's national growth. 
Yet when an attempt is made to justify a scheme 
vvhich permits a tax to be laid upon every consumer 
in the land for the benefit of our manufacturers, 
quite beyond a reasonable demand for governmental 
regard, it suits the purposes of advocacy to call our 
manufactures infant industries, still needing the 
highest and greatest degree of favor and fostering 
care that can be wrung from Federal legislation. 

WELFARE OF OUR WORKINGMEN. 

"It is also said that the increase in the price of 
domestic manufactures resulting from the present 
tariff is necessary in order that higher wages may 
be paid to our workingmen employed in manufac- 
tories, than are paid for what is called the pauper 
labor of Europe. All will acknowledge the force 



192 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

of an argument which involves the welfare and 
liberal compensation of our lal)oring people. Our 
labor is honorable in the eyes of every American 
citizen ; and as it lies at the foundation of our de- 
velopment and progress, it is entitled, without 
affectjition or hypocrisy, to the utmost regard. The 
standard of our laborers' life should not be meas- 
ured by that of any other country less favored, 
and they are entitled to their full share of all our 
advantages. 

" By the last census it is made to appear that of 
the 17,392,099 of our popuhition engaged in all 
kinds of industries 7,670,493 are employed in 
aiiri culture, 4,074,238 in professional and personal 
service (2,934,876 of whom are domestic servants 
and laborers,) while 1,810,256 are employed in 
trade and transportation, and 3,837,112 are classed 
as employed in manufacturing and mining. 

" For present purposes, however, the hist number 
given should be considerably reduced. Without 
attempting to enumerate ail, it will be conceded 
that there should be deducted from those which it 
includes 375,143 carpenters and joiners, 285,401 
milliners, dressmakers and seamstresses, J72,726 
blacksmiths, 133,756 tailors and tailoresses, 102,- 
473 masons, 76,241 butchers, 41,309 bakers, 22,- 
083 plasterers, and 4,891 engaged in manufactur- 
ing agricultural implements, amounting in the ag- 
gregate to 1,214,023, leaving 2^623,089 persons 
employed in such manufacturing industries as are 
claimed to be benefited by a high tariff. 

THE REAL ISSUE SHOULD NOT BE BEFOGGED. 

" To these the appeal is made to save their em- 
ployment and maintain their wages by resisting 




ALLEN G. THURMAN! 








i 




J^'^^'-r'::^. 



L. Q. C. LAMAR. 







ItiOMAS V. BAYARD. 







WILLIAM F. VILAS. 




DANIEL VV. VOORHEES. 




ISAAC P. GRAY. 




,.,,. ..•-.•...<-,.•. ■• v--::--^r-v---v-^- •■•^;.v^^ 



DAVID B. HILL. 




WILLIAM L. SCOTT. 




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A CALM POLITICAI DISCUSSION. 




CROWDED HOTELS. 




t^i. 



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THE OLD STATE HOUSE— WHERE INDEPENDENCE WAS DECLARED. 




CARPENTES'S HALL— WHERE THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS MET. 




TUK NATIONAI- MlM.LiM-lN I NDEPliJSDENUK UALU 



(139) 



STEPHEN- GTiOVKR CLEVELAND. 193 

a change. There should be no disposition to 
tinswer such suggestions by the allegation that 
they are in a minority among those who labor, and 
therefore should forego an advantage, in the in- 
terest of low prices for the majority ; their com- 
pensation, as it may be affected by the operation 
of tariff laws, should at all times be scrupulously 
kept in view; and yet with slight reflection they 
will not overlook the fact that they are consumers 
with the rest; that they, too, have their own 
wants and those of their families to supply from 
their earnings, and that the price of the neces- 
saries of life, as well as the amount of their wages, 
will reiruhite the measure of their welfare and 
comfort. 

" But the reduction of taxation demanded should 
be so measured as not to necessitate or justify either 
the loss of employment by the workingman nor 
the lessening of his wages; and the profits still 
remaining to the manufacturer, after a necessary 
readjustment, should furnish no excuse for the 
sacrifice of the interests of his employes either in 
their opportunity to work or in the diminution of 
their compensation. Nor can the worker in manu- 
factures fail to understand that while a high tariff 
is claimed to be necessary to allow the payment 
of remunerative v/ages, it certainly results in a 
very large increase in the price of nearly all sorts 
uf manufactures, which, in almost countless forms, 
lie needs for the use of himself and his family. 
He receives at the desk of his employer his wages, 
and perhaps before he reaches his home is obliged 
in a purchase for family use of an article which 
embraces his own labor, to return in the payment 
of the increase in price which the tariff permits, 

N 



194 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the hard-earned compensation of many days of 
toil. 

HOW AGRICULTURE IS AFFECTED. 

" Tlie farmer and the agriculturist who manu- 
facture nothing, but who pay the increased price 
which the tariff imposes, upon every agricultural 
implement, upon all he wears and upon all he uses 
and owns, except the increase of his flocks and 
herds and such things as his husbandry produces 
from the soil, is invited to aid in maintaining the 
present situation ; and he is told that a high duty 
on imported wool is necessary for the benefit of 
those who have sheep to shear, in order that the 
price of their wool may be increased. They, of 
course, are not reminded that the farmer who has 
no sheep is by this scheme obliged, in his pur- 
chases of clothing and woolen goods, to pay a 
tribute to his fellow farmer as well as to the 
manufacturer and merchant; nor is any mention 
made of the fact that the sheep-owners themselves 
and their households must wear clothing and use 
other articles manufactured from the wool they 
sell at tariff prices, and thus as consumers must 
return their share of this increased price to the 
tradesman. 

" I tliink it may be fairly assumed that a large 
proportion of the sheep cwned by the farmers 
throughout the country are found in small flocks 
numbering from twenty-five to fifty. The duty on 
the grade of imported wool which these sheep 
yield, is ten cents each pound if of the value of 
thirty cents or less, and twelve cents if of the 
value of more than thirty cents. If the liberal 
estimate of six pounds be allowed for each fleece, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 195 

the duty thereon would be sixty or seventy-two 
cents, and this may be taken as the utmost en- 
hancement of its price to the farmer by reason of 
this duty. Eighteen dollars would thus represent 
the increased price of the wool from twenty-five 
sheep, and thirty-six dollars that from the wool of 
fifty sheep; and at present values this addition 
would amount to about one-third of its price. If 
upon its sale the farmer receives this or a less 
tariff" profit, the wool leaves his hands charged with 
precisely that sum, which in all its changes will ad- 
here to it, until it reaches the consumer. When 
manufactured into cloth and other goods and ma- 
terial for use, its cost is not only increased to the 
extent of the farmer's tariff profit, but a further 
sum has been added for the benefit of the manu- 
facturer under the operation of other tarifi* laws. 
In the meantime the day arrives when the farmer 
finds it necessary to purchase woclen goods and 
material to clothe himself and family for the win- 
ter. When he faces the tradesman for that pur- 
pose he discovers that he is obliged not only to 
return in the way of increased prices, his tariff* 
profit on the wool he sold, and which then perhaps 
lies before him in manufactured form, but that he 
must add a considerable sum thereto to meet a 
further increase in cost caused by a tariff" duty on 
the manufacture. Thus in the end he is aroused to 
the fact that he has paid upon a moderate pur- 
chase, as a result of the tariff" scheme, which, when 
he sold his wool, seemed so profitable, an increase 
in price more than sufficient to sweep away all the 
tariff" profit he received upon the wool he produced 
and sold. 



196 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

EVERY man's clothing NOW TAXED. 

" When the number of farmers engaged in wool- 
raising is compared with all the farmers in the 
country, and the small proportion they bear to our 
population is considered ; when it is made apparent 
that, in the case of a large part of those who own 
sheep, the benefit of the present tariff on wool is 
illusory ; and, above all, when it must be conceded 
that the increase of the cost of living caused by 
such tariff, becomes a burden upon those with 
moderate means and the poor, the employed and 
unemployed, the sick and well, and the young and 
old, and that it constitutes a tax which, with re- 
lentless grasp, is fastened upon the clothing of every 
man, woman, and child in the land, reasons are 
suggested why the removal or reduction of this 
duty should be included in a revision of our tariff 
laws. 

" In speaking of the increased cost to the con- 
sumer of our home manufactures, resulting from a 
duty laid upon imported articles of the same de- 
scription, the fact is not overlooked that competition 
among our domestic producers sometimes has the 
effect of keeping the price of their products below 
the highest limit allowed by such duty. But it is 
notorious that this competition is too often stran- 
gled by combinations quite prevalent at this time, 
and frequently called trusts, which have for their 
object the regulation of the supply and price of 
commodities made and sold by members of the 
combination. The people can hardly hope for any 
consideration in the operation of these selfish 
schemes. 

** If, however, in the absence of such combina- 
tion, a healthy and free competition reduces the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND 197 

price of any particular dutiable article of home 
production, below the limit which it might other- 
wise reach under our tariff laws, and if, with such 
reduced price, its manufacture continues to thrive, 
it is entirely evident that one thing has been dis- 
covered which should be carefully scrutinized in an 
effort to reduce taxation. 

ABOMINABLE COMBINATIONS. 

*'The necessity of combination to maintain the 
price of any commodity to the tariff point, fur- 
nishes proof that some one is willing to accept 
lower prices for such commodity, and that such 
prices are remunerative ; and lower prices produced 
by competition prove the same thing. Thus, 
where either of these conditions exist, a* case 
would seem to be presented for an easy reduction 
of taxation. 

" The considerations which have been presented 
touching]: our tariff laws are intended only to en- 
force an earnest recommendation that the surplus 
revenues of the Government be prevented by the 
reduction of our customs duties, and, at the same 
time, to emphasize a suggestion that in accomplish- 
ing this purpose, we may discharge a double duty 
to our people by granting to tliem a measure of re- 
lief from tariff taxation in quarters where it is most 
needed and from sources where it can be most fairly 
and justly accorded. 

''Nor can the presentation made of such consid- 
erations be, with any degree of fairness, regarded 
as evidence of unfriendliness toward our manufac- 
turing interests, or of any lack of appreciation of 
their value and importance. 

'' These interests constitute a leading and most 



198 STEPnEN G HOVER CLEVELAND. 

substanti.al element of our national greatness and 
furnish the proud proof of our country's progress. 
But if in the emergency that presses upon us our 
manufacturers are asked to surrender something 
for the public good and to avert disaster, their pa- 
triotism, as well as a grateful recognition of advan- 
tages already afforded, should lead them to willing 
co-operation. No demand is made that tliey shall 
forego all the benefits of governmental regard ; but 
they cannot fail to be admonished of their duty, 
as well as their enlightened self interest and safety, 
when they are reminded of the fact that financial 
panic and collapse, toWhich the present condition 
tends, afford no greater shelter or protection to our 
manufactures than to our other important enter- 
prises. Opportunity for safe, careful, and deliberate 
reform is now offered ; and none of us should be 
unmindful of a time when an abused and irritated 
people, heedless of those who have lesisted timely 
and reasonable relief, may insist upon a radical and 
sweeping rectification of their wrongs. 

A WORK FRAUGHT WITH DIFFICULTY. 

" The difficulty attending a wise and fair revision 
of our tariff laws is not underestimated. It will 
require on the part of the Congress great labor and 
care, and especially a broad and national contem- 
j)lation of the subject, and a patriotic disregard of 
such local and selfish claims as are unreasonable 
and reckless of the welfare of the entire countrv. 

" Under our present laws more than four thou- 
sand articles are subject to duty. Many of these 
do not in any way compete with our owmi manufac- 
tures, and many are hardly worth attention as sub- 
jects of revenue. A considerable reduction can be 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 199 

made in the aggregate, by adding them to the free 
list. The taxation of hixuries presents no features 
of hardship ; but the necessaries of life used and 
consumed by all the people, the duty upon which 
adds to the cost of living in every home, should be 
greatly cheapened. 

" The radical reduction of the duties imposed 
upon raw material used in manufactures, or its free 
importation, is of course an important factor in any 
effort to reduce the price of these necessaries; it 
would not only relieve them from the increased cost 
caused by tlie tariff on such material, but the 
manufactured product being thus cheapened, that 
part of the tariff now hiid upon such product, as a 
compensation to our manufacturers for the present 
price of raw material, could be accordingly modi- 
fied. Such reduction, or free importation, would 
serve beside to largely reduce the revenue. It is 
not apparent how such a change can have any in- 
jurious effect upon our manufacturers. On the 
contrary, it would appear to give them a better 
chance in foreign markets with the manufacturers 
of other countries, who cheapen their wares by free 
material. Thus our people might have the oppor- 
tunity of extending their sales beyond the limits 
of home consumption — saving tliem from the de- 
pression, interruption in business, and loss caused 
by a glutted domestic market, and affording their 
employes more certain and steady labor, with its 
resulting quiet and contentment. 

APPEAL TO PATRIOTIC DUTY. 

"The question thus imperatively presented for 
solution should be approached in a spirit higher 
than partisanship and considered in the light of 



200 STEPUEX GROVEH clkveland. 

that reirurd for patriotic duty which should char- 
acterize the action of those intrusted with the weal 
of a confiding people. But the obligation to de- 
clared party policy and principle is not wanting to 
urge prompt and effective action. Both of the 
great political parties now represented in the Gov- 
ernment have, by repeated and authoritative de- 
clarations, condemned the condition of our laws 
which permit the collection from the people of un- 
necessary revenue, and have, in the most solenni 
manner, promised its correction ; and neither as 
citizens or partisans are our countrymen in a mood 
to condone the deliberate violation of these pledges. 
*'Our progress toward a wise conclusion will not 
be improved by dwelling upon the theories of pro- 
tection and free trade. This savors too much of 
bandying epithets. It is a condition which con- 
fronts us — not a theory. Relief from this condi- 
tion mav involve a sliorht reduction of the ad van- 
tages which we award our home productions, but 
the entire withdrawal of such advantages should 
not be contemplated. The question of free trade 
is absolutely irrelevant; and the persistent claim 
made in certain quarters, that all efforts to relieve 
the people from unjust and unnecessary taxation 
are schemes of so-called free-traders, is mischievous 
and far removed from any consideration for the 
public good. 

REDUCTION OF TAXATION. 

'' Tlie simple and plain duty which we owe the 
people is to reduce taxation to the necessary ex- 
penses of an economical operation of the Govern- 
ment, and to restore to the business of the country 
the money which we hold in the Treasury through 



STEPHEN GKOVEU CLEVELAND. 201 

the perversion of governmental powers. These 
things can and should be done with safety to all 
our industries, without danger to the opportunity 
for remunerative labor which our workingmen need, 
and with benelit to them and all our people, by 
cheapening their means of subsistence and increas- 
inir the measure of their comforts. 

''The Constitution provides that the President 
'shall, from time to time, give to the Congress in- 
formation of the state of the Union.' It has been 
the custom of the Executive, in compliance with 
this provision, to annually exhibit to the Congress, 
at the opening of its session, the general condition 
of the country, and to detail, with some particu- 
larity, the operations of the different Executive 
Departments. It would be especially agreeable to 
follow this course at the present time, and to call 
attention to the valuable accomplishments of these 
Departments during the last fiscal year. But I am 
so much impressed with the paramount importance 
of the subject to which tliis communication has 
thus far been devoted, that I shall forego the addi- 
tion of any other topic, and only urge upon your 
immediate consideration the 'state of the Union' 
as shown in the present condition of our treasury 
and our general fiscal situation, upon which every 
element of our safety and prosperity depends. 

" The reports of the heads of Departments, which 
will be submitted, contain full and explicit infor- 
mation touching the transaction of the business 
intrusted to them, and such recommendations re- 
lating to legislation in the public interest as they 
deem advisable. I ask for these reports and recom- 
mendations the deliberate examination nnd action 
of the Leii'islative branch of the Government. 



202 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

" There are other subjects not embraced in the 
departmental reports demanding legislative consid- 
eration and which I should be glad to submit. 
Some of them, however, have been earnestly pre- 
sented in previous messages, and as to them, I beg 
leave to repeat prior recommendations. 

" As the law makes no provision for any report 
from the Dei)artment of State, a brief history of 
the transactions of that important Department, 
together with other matters w hich it may hereafter 
be deemed essential to commend to the attention 
of the Congress, may furnish the occasion for a 
future communication. 

"Grover Cleveland. 
" Washington, 

" December 6, 1887." 

The foregoing message produced a deep impres- 
sion throughout the country, and at once stimulated 
public discussion of the tariff question. When the 
States held their National Conventions the Presi- 
dent's views were approved or denounced according 
to the party passing them in review. A wnde 
diversity of opinion upon the question of taxation 
has been developed, yet it is believed the sound 
principles enunciated in President Cleveland's 
manifesto will commend themselves to many out- 
side his party, as they are certainly approved by a 
vast miajority in it. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PRESIDENT Cleveland's public addresses. 

The President not an Inveterate Talker — Art of Putting 
Things — Hard Sense and no Superfluous Ornajient — 
Tour Through the West and South — Speech at Mil- 
waukee — Reception at Madison — Address to a Great 
Crowd— Speeches at Minneapolis and Atlanta — Attend- 
ing Presbyterian General Assembly in Philadelphia — 
Reception at Overbrook — Arrival of Southern Gen- 
eral Assembly — President Cleveland's Speech. 

Although President Cleveland has never been 
much addicted to political speeches, yet on several 
occasions he has delivered public addresses on a 
variety of topics. These have uniformly shown 
good sense, a thorough mastery of the subject, a 
plain, straightforward style of utterance, and a 
felicitous way of putting things. Guarded from 
rash expressions on the one hand, and unmeaning, 
negative commonplaces on the other, his public 
addresses reach the average intelligence of the 
people, clearly state what is intended, and are free 
from superfluous ornament and pompous grandilo- 
quence. 

It will be interesting to our readers to peruse 
some of these public utterances. 

Early in October, 1887, President Cleveland, 

(203) 



204 STF-PriEX GHOVER CLEVELAND. 

having accepted urgent invitations from various 
municipal bodies to enjoy the hospitality of their 
respective towns, started on a tour through the 
West and South. There were cordial greetings 
and magnificent demonstrations at all the points 
touched by tlie Presidential train. After a hearty 
welcome at Chicago, a visit was paid to Milwaukee. 
Here the party met with another cordial reception. 
The town was decorated in honor of the distin- 
guished arrival, and every possible attention was 
paid to the President and his popular wife. 

The parade from the depot to the reviewing 
stand followed the President all over the city and 
included the poorest and dingiest quarters, where 
distinguished visitors are not usually taken. The 
President reviewed at the court house, where the 
Republican Mayor delivered the brief address of 
welcome and President Cleveland responded, while 
a revenue cutter fired the President's salute. Mr. 
Cleveland spoke as follows : 

'^I am very glad to have an opportunity, though 
the time allowed is very brief, to meet the people 
of Wisconsin's chief city. Since we left home, and 
in passing through different States on our way, 
there has been presented to us a variety of physical 
features characteristic of their diversity in soil and 
conforn)atioii. But the people we have met at all 
points have been the same in their energy and 
activity, in tlieir local pride, and in that peculiar 
trait of American diameter which produces the 
belief, firmly adhered to by every individual, that 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 205 

liis particular place of residence is the chosen and 
most favored spot which the world contains. This 
condition creates an aggregate of sentiment invin- 
cible in operation, furnishing tlie motive power 
which has brought about the stupendous growth 
and development of our country. 

" But there has been another element of charac- 
ter displayed among the people everywhere on our 
travel which has been universal and not disturbed 
or changed by any difference in place or circum- 
stance. No State lines have circumscribed, no 
local pride has diminished, and no business activity 
has in the least stifled the kindness and cordiality 
of the people's welcome. There is bitterness enough 
in the partisan feeling which seems inseparable 
from our political methods; but the good people 
of the United States have, I believe, decreed that 
there are occasions when this shall have no place. 
This is well manifested to-day in our hearty greet- 
ing by the people of Wisconsin and this active, 
stirring city. Municipal enterprise has added much 
to the natural beauty of your metropolis, as is 
attested by your pleasant streets and handsome 
homes with their surroundings. But its great in- 
crease in population, its manufactures and its trade 
demonstrates that its citizens have not been con- 
tent with beauty alone. 

" I cannot forget my interest in municipal affairs, 
arising from an active experience at one time in 
city government; and I find myself very much 
inclined to scrutinize such statements as fall under 
my eye demonstrating their financial condition. 
With all its extensive public improvements, unless 
I am m.uch at fault, the city of Milwaukee has less 
of public debt than any city of its population in 



206 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the United States excepting one. In these days, 
when the temptation to local public extravagance 
is not often enough understood, you may well be 
proud of this exhibit, and besides the satisfaction 
which this financial condition produces, it has a 
practical side to it. Large enterprises are often 
much influenced in their location by such con- 
siderations, and they are apt to be established 
where the burden of taxation is the least, and 
where the share of public indebtedness to be borne 
by them is the smallest." 

From Milwaukee the President went to Madi- 
son. All alomr the route the inhabitants turned 
out to get a glimpse of the nation's Chief Execu- 
tive and pay him tokens of respect. 

Madison had decorated its streets very prettily 
and turned out a large crowd at the station. Ex- 
cursion parties had come from all the neighboring 
parts of the State and the town was full of people. 
The party was escorted to the handsome capitol 
building and under a patriotic arch on which stood 
a beautiful Goddess of Liberty. The most pointed 
decoration seen on the way was that with which 
Rev. W. A. McAtee, the pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church, had adorned the parsonage in honor of 
the man who w\a3 born in a Presbyterian parson- 
age. In front of the house stands a vigorous 
young hickory tree. On this was fastened a large 
shield handsomely bound with red and blue cloth 
and bearing the inscription : " The kind of timber 
we have in the White House." On the pillars of 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 207 

the porch was fastened another shield bearing the 
words : " The kind of house it began to grow m." 

THE president's SPEECH. 

At the Capitol, where there was a great crowd 
and a great deal of cheering, as, indeed, there was 
everywhere, Chief Justice Cole welcomed the Presi- 
dent to the city in a strictly non-partisan speech, 
and he responded as follows: 

''After a week spent in travel and in visiting 
the people of the great West, we have come to 
rest awhile at the capital of Wisconsin, known as 
the most beautiful in location and scenery of all 
the cities of this region. We have come to see 
your lakes and other features of beauty that give 
you the reputation so well deserved. 

" You are not to understand that we need or 
desire rest so much that we do not care to see the 
good people of Madison, for that would be a mis- 
take. Though we see them at their home for the 
first time, they are not unknown to us. We knew 
you at the seat of the National Government 
through your fellow-townsman, W'ho has done 
honor to his home and to his neighbors by a most 
successful and conscientious performance of im- 
portant public duty, and who has earned, as he 
has received, the respect and esteem of every citi- 
zen who desires the welfare of his country. So 
our desire to actually see you and to know you 
better is perfectly natural. It seemed to me when 
I planned the trip w^hich we have undertaken that 
Madison would be a proper place at which to make 
our first stop for rest. I have always observed 



208 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

that Avlien a man wants to do something of this 
kind he can quite readily tind a way to justify it. 
So when I conceived the idea of staying at Madi- 
son over Sunday and testing the kindness of her 
citizens and tlie hospitahty of the Postmaster 
General, all I had to do was to imagine that we 
would be very much fatigued when we reached 
here, and in need of the rest I Avas determined we 
sliould liave. Thus we are here, and tired enough 
to justify my plans. 

'' I am already satisfied that all descriptions of 
your city with which I have been favored have 
failed to give me an adequate idea of its beauty, 
of its broad and pleasant streets, and of its fine 
public and private buildings. I am already pre- 
pared to venture the assertion, based u})on very 
slight observation, that this is the home of kind, 
hearty and hospitable people. The influence upon 
a connnunity of such a university as has its seat 
here, the alma mater of hundreds of educated and 
useful men scattered throughout our entiie Western 
country, is greater than is at first glance appre- 
ciated. It fosters a certain refinement and culti- 
vation which radiate in all the homes within its 
sphere, vastly enhancing their value as nurseries 
of steady and intelligent citizenship. I expect to 
lieartily enjoy my stay liere, and to always here- 
after cherish pleasing recollections of your city 
and its inhabitants." 

At Minneapolis the popular demonstration was 
repeated. As the President's train arrived, he 
and Mrs. Cleveland emerged from the car and were 
met b}' the outstretched hand of the Mayor. Cor- 
dial greetings followed, and ex-Congressman Wash- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 209 

burn, Judge Rea, commander-in-chief of the Grand '^ 
Army of the Republic, and several members of the 
local reception committee were introduced. The 
members of the Algonquin Club, 150 strong, then 
made a pathway through the crowd, and the pro- 
cessions moved on to the West Hotel through the 
crowded and decorated streets. It took but a few 
moments to reach the hotel, and the guests were 
without further ceremony conducted to the floral 
bower that had been prepared for their coming. 

THE SPEECH OF THE DAY. 

In the afternoon the President and his party 
were driven about the city, and on returning to 
the hotel he spoke from the balcony to the crowd 
as follows : 

'^Felloio- Citizens : 

"I have come from the wondrous city of St. 
Paul to see its twin wonder and the people of Min- 
neapolis. I have lately seen a little book entitled, 
* Minneapolis and St. Paul Compared,' which deals 
demolishing blows to the pretense of the latter- 
named city, and discredits the idea that it is in any 
phase or feature the equal of this. I became a 
little confused by the facts and figures stated, and 
determined to see both cities, as the best means of 
settling the question discussed with so much spirit. 
1 have arrived at the conclusion now that if these 
two wondrous cities are not satisfied with their 
respective conditions of growth and greatness all 
the rest of their amazed fellow-countrymen are. 

"While the people of these rival places are 



210 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

hoisting figures to determine which is the greater, 
the rest of us Jire pointing to you both as the best 
exemplifications of" what American pluck and en- 
ergy can accomplish. Wlien I see this handsome 
city, with its splendid residences and immense 
business blocks, and when it occurs to me that I 
am at the greatest wheat market in the world ; 
that the largest flour-mill in existence is h)cated 
here; that the capacity of all such mills in Min- 
neapolis exceeds 30,000 barrels of Hour a day ; 
that these mills are in direct communication with 
the foreign markets of the world, and that millions 
of barrels of Hour are annually exported from this 
city to foreign countries, 1 find myself wondering 
how much further I would have to go to reach the 
West, that is, the ' Out West,' which used to be 
presented to my young imagination by the wagons 
covered with canvas, filled with men, women, and 
children, and household utensils. As these estab- 
lishments dragged slowly through the village, 
destined* Out West,' it seemed to me that their 
occupants had forever bid farewell to civilization. 
This was not very long ago, and perhaps I saw in 
those wagons some of the pioneers of Minnesota, 
and perhaps some of the early settlers of Minne- 
apolis were there. 

" How absurd it would be if I should meet one 
of these pioneers here to-day, or his son, and talk 
to him of a contrast between the refinement, civil- 
ization, and cultivation of his present home and 
the one he or his father left in the State of New 
York. Besides thjs, the fact that many States in 
the East contributed largely to your early populjjr 
tion gives us a little better right to be proud of 
your achievement, and every American citizen 



STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 211 

ought to be proud that his country can produce 
two cities with the wealth and growth and success 
of Minneapolis and St. Paul." 

"We next find the President at Atlanta, Georgia, 
after numerous receptions at prominent points 
along the route. Here Mr. and Mrs. Clevehand 
and Postmaster-General Vilas were escorted to the 
Capitol, where they entered the Governor's room 
and were received by Governor Gordon. The vis- 
iting governors, the Supreme Court of the State, 
the members of the Governor's staff, the United 
States officials, the municipal authorities, and the 
members of the Legislature were presented to the 
city's guests. The party then drove to the Expo- 
sition grounds at Piedmont Park, where Mr. 
Henry W. Grady, formally welcomed the Presi- 
dent in a brief speech. Mr. Cleveland replied : 

" When in 1845 a convention was held at Mem- 
phis, in the State of Tennessee, having for its ob- 
ject the development of the Western and Southern 
States, one of the most prominent and far-seeing 
statesmen of the country foretold the future great- 
ness and importance of a point in DeKalb county, 
in the State of Georgia, called Atlanta, not far 
from the village of Decatur. The place was then 
properly called ^a point,' for Atlanta was then 
merely a name given to the railroad station here, 
having no fair pretensions to being either a village 
or city. It was two years after this that the name 
was adopted by the people of the little village of 
Marthasville, when they proudly acquired a city 



212 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

charter. Experiencing all the incidents and strug- 
gles common to municipal growth, it had in 1861 
a population of about 13,000. Soon thereafter the 
thunders of war sounded all about her, and a be- 
sieged armv occupied her streets and business places. 
Thus it is that the Atlanta of to-day may well be 
said to date from 1865. 

'• I have lately seen evidences of the activity 
and perseverance of the people of the United States 
in the creation of prosperous and bustling cities, 
and in overcoming difficulties that are inseparable 
from new settlements and the growth of new 
cities. But it seems to me that an element of 
heroism is added by a people who view without 
despair the destruction of all they have wrought 
— who begin again to build their waste places — 
and who, in spite of the greatest discouratxements, 
evince a determination to reach their destiny. In 
twenty-two years the second Atlanta has been 
built, incomparably larger, more prosperous and 
fairer than the destroyed Atlanta. Her people 
may well be proud of the work of their hands. 
All their countrymen may congratulate themselves 
that what has been done is the result of American 
courage and American enterprise. Surelj' nothing 
should stand in the way of such congratulation, 
and the citizen who, seeing these additions to the 
wealth and progress of the nation, cannot now 
from his heart proudly say of the people who have 
restored Atlanta, ' These are my countrymen,' for- 
gets his fealty to American citizenship." 

On May 23, 1888, President Cleveland paid a 
visit to Philadelphia. The Presbyterian General 
Assemblv of the United States was in session. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 213 

This is the Church in which President Clevehind's 
father was an honored minister, and in which he 
received his early rehgious teacliing. Tlie gather- 
ing in Phihidelphia was a notahle one, representa- 
tives from all parts of the country heing present. 
Tlie occasion was most interesting, as it was the 
celebration of a century's activity and growth. 

A reception was tendered the President by Mr. 
and Mrs. Wistar Morris at Overbrook, in the 
suburbs of the ^' Quaker City." The members of 
the General Assembly were conveyed thither by 
special train. The occasion was also memorable 
by reason of the presence of the General Assembly 
of the Southern Church, wlio were invited o:uests. 

The sight on reaching the grounds was a very 
pretty one. The gay beds of colored leaves were 
inst bviiinninGT to show their rich desij^rns, and here 
and there were clumps of rhododendrons and other 
flowering and foliage plants. A large refreshment 
tent was erected on the lawn to the right of the 
bouse, and the laAvn immediately in front of the 
porch w'as laid with boards. The commissioners 
amused themselves by wandering through the halls 
and parlors of the mansion, waiting for the arrival 
of their Southern brethren. 

Mr. Morris welcomed the members of both 
assemblies to the hospitality of his home, and 
hoped that on such an auspicious occasion they 
would reunite and form one assembly. 



214 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

PRESIDENT Cleveland's speech. 
Mr. Cleveland spoke as follows : 

"I am much gratified by the opportunity here 
aflbrded me to meet the representatives of the 
Presbyterian Church. It will be admitted by all 
here to be the best denomination. [Laughter and 
applause.] Surely a man never should lose his 
interest in the welfare of the Church in which he 
was reared, and yet I will not find fault with any 
of you who deem it a sad confession made when I 
acknowledge that I must recall the days now long 
past to find my closest relation to the grand and 
noble denomination which you represent. 

"I say this because those of us who inherit 
fealty to our Church as I did begin early to learn 
those thing's which make us Presbyterians all the 
djvys of our lives, and thus it is that the rigors of 
our early teaching, by wdiich we are grounded in 
our lasting allegiance, are especially vivid and 
perhaps the best remembered. The attendance 
upon church service three times each Sinidny and 
upon Sabbath-school during the noon intermission 
may be irksome enough to a boy of ten or twelve 
years of age to be well fixed in his memory, but I 
have never known a man who reirretted these 
things in the years of his maturity. [Applause.] 

"The Shorter Catechism, though thoroughly 
studied and learned, was not perhaps at the time 
perfectly understood, and yet in the stern labors 
and duties of after life those are not apt to be the 
worst citizens who were early taught what is the 
chief end of man. [Laughter and continued ap- 
plause.] Speaking of these things and in the 
presence of those here assembled the most tender 



STEPITEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 215 

thoughts crowd upon my mind — all connected with 
Presbyterian ism and its teachings. There are 
present with nie now memories of a kind and affec- 
tionate father, consecrated to the cause, and called 
to his rest and his reward in the midday of his 
usefulness ; a sacred recollection of the prayers and 
pious love of a sainted mother, and a family circle 
hallowed and sanctified by the spirit of Presby- 
terianism. [Applause.] 

" I certainly cannot but express the wish and 
hope that the Presbyterian Church will always be 
at the front in every movement which promises 
the temporal as well as the spiritual advancement 
of mankind. In the turmoil and bustle of every- 
day Vi^e few are foolish enough to ignore the prac- 
tical value to our people and our country of the 
church orfranizations established amons: us and the 
advantage of Christian example and teaching. 
[Applause.] 

'' The field is vast and the work sufficient to 
engage the efforts of every sect and denomination, 
but I am inclined to believe that the church which 
is most tolerant and conservative without loss of 
spiritual strength will soonest find the way to the 
hearts and affections of the people. While w^e may 
be pardoned for insisting that our denomination is 
the best, we may, I think, safely concede much 
that is good to all other churches that seek to make 
men better. [Applause.] 

" I am here to greet the delegates of two Gen- 
eral Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church. One 
is called North and the otlier South. Tlie subject 
is too deep and intricate for me, but I cannot help 
wondering why this should be. These words, so 
far as they denote separation and estrangement, 







216 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

should be obsolete. [Continued applause and cries 
of hear, hear !] In the councils of the nation and 
in the business of the country they no longer mean 
reproach and antagonism. Even the soldiers who 
fought for the North and for the South are restored 
to fraternity and unity. This fraternity and unity 
is taught and enjoined by our Church. Wlien 
shall she herself be united with all the added 
strength and usefulness that harmony and union 
ensure ? " [Applause and cheers.] 

These addresses present President Cleveland as 
one who has a happy f\iculty of adapting himself 
to the occasion. His heart is open and his hand 
is ready. His tongue gives utterance to his thought, 
and it is impossible to mistake his meaning. He 
is singularly free from all " spread-eagleism." The 
sober, practical, every-day qualities that fit one for 
the labors, perplexities, and duties of ordinary life 
belong to him, in addition to his statesman-like 
characteristics. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

A Responsible Position — Good Sense and Tact Required — 
Mrs. Cleveland's Birth and Early Life— At School in 
Buffalo — Severe Family Affliction — Life at Wells Col- 
lege — Whispers Concerning Aitentions from the Gov- 
ernor at Albany — Day of Gradi'ation — Flowers from 
the Conservatory of the White House — Trip to Eltiope 
— Wedding at Washington — The Scene Described — 
Honeymoon at Deer Park — Estimate of Mrs. Cleve- 
land's Character. 

Mrs. Grover Cleveland occupies the highest 
position of «iiiy lady in the hind. It has fallen to 
her lot to preside over the Executive Mansion, to 
appear at public receptions and on State occasions, 
and tender the hospitalities of the White House to 
its numerous visitors. That she is regarded by 
the people at large with something more than 
ordinary interest is due not only to her exalted 
position, but to those traits of character which 
secure for their possessor the warmest affection. 
Beloved by all who have personally known her, 
called in her very youth to a place of such respon- 
sibility, and one requiring good sense, delicate tact, 
and unw^earied patience to fill it, she has proved 
her eminent fitness to be the wife of the President, 

and has graced the station she occupies. 

(217) 



218 THE FIKST LADY OF THE LAND. 

It will be interesting to our readers to have 
some account of Mrs. Cleveland's early life and 
marriage. 

The city of Buffalo, N. Y., was her birthplace. 
Here she was born on the 21st of July, 1864. 
Frank Folsoin, as she was called in childhood, 
gave promise of growing to fine proportions, both 
physically and mentally. Her father was a whole- 
souled, genial man, possessed of a singular power 
to attract others, and was surrounded by many 
warm friends. He was a popular man with the 
business community, and greatly beloved in his 
own household. 

The family continued to reside in Buffalo until 
Mr. Folsom's death in 1875, and then, under the 
shadow of their great bereavement, Mrs. Folsom 
and daughter went to the country town of Medina 
to reside with Mrs. Folsom's mother. 

The chief concern at this time was the education 
of Miss Frances. She had attended Mme. Breck- 
er's French Kindergarten, and on the return of the 
family to Buflalo, she entered the Central School, 
where she had the reputation of being a good 
scholar, studious, capable of close application, and 
enthusiastic in whatever she undertook. 

Receiving a certificate from the Central School, 
she was able, without examination, to enter the 
Sophomore class at Wells College. Her personal 
popularity was soon evident. Both teachers and 
pupils felt the charm of her wn)manly heart and 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 219 

cultured manner. If at that time it had been 
foretold that a young lady in the institution was 
to be elevated to tlie position of mistress of the 
White House, there would have been no difficulty 
in guessing who was the one pre-eminently fitted 
for the high station. 

While at Wells College, it became known that 
Miss Folsom was the favored recipient of atten- 
tions from the Governor of the State. Mr. Cleve- 
land was then at Albany, busily occupied with his 
gubernatorial duties. Time passed ; the occupant 
of the Governor's chair was transferred to a wider 
sphere of political powder and influence at Wash- 
ington, and when Miss Frances graduated, flow^ers 
from the White House conservatories lent beaut v 
to the occasion. This w^as enough ; it was openly 
whispered that President Cleveland w^ould not 
remain a bachelor forever. 

After her graduation Miss Folsom w^ent to spend 
a part of the summer wnth her grandfather, the 
late Colonel John B. Folsom, of Folsomdale, Wy- 
oming county, N. Y. By his death the grand- 
daughter, of whom he appears to have been very 
fond, came into possession of a handsome property, 
in addition to a competency possessed before. 

In company with her mother and uncle, Mr. 
Benjamin Folsom, she spent the following winter 
in Europe. If there w^as any definite understand- 
ino; or eniraGrement between her and President 
Cleveland before or during her absence, the matter 



220 THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

was in good hands. Discretion did not once un- 
seal its lips, and the public, ever as ready for 
rumor and gossip as a vacuum is for air, was left 
to its own surmises and guesses. Before her re- 
turn, however, it was openly asserted by persons 
who have a wonderful way of announcing things 
beforehand, and wlio sometimes blunder into a 
correct statement, that the fiir young lady in 
Europe was to return and unpack her trunks at 
the White House. It was true, and at length 
there was no concealment of the fact. 

Little was heard from Miss Folsom until the 
Red Star steamer Noordland, from Antwerp, sailed 
into the port of New York, having just trans- 
ferred to a United States revenue cutter Miss Fol- 
som, her mother, and her uncle, Mr. Benjamin 
Folsom. The cutter ran up the bay with an oc- 
casional salute of steam-whistles, but the party 
came comparatively unannounced. Colonel La- 
inont w^as present as the President's representative. 
At the pier the bride-elect was welcomed by Miss 
Cleveland, and the party was speedily installed at 
the Gilsey House. Mrs. Laniont, Mrs. Whitney, 
and Mrs. Eiidicott paid their respects early the 
following day, and on Sunday, the 30th, the 
President arrived in New York, and immediately 
repaired to the liotel to greet his future wife. He 
\vas accompanied by Secretaries Whitney and 
Lamar, but these gentlemen left him at the ferry, 
and he met Mrs. and Miss Folsom alone in their 
private parlors. 



THE FIRST LADY OF TPIE LAND. 221 

The hurried manner in which an American 
President is obliged to attend to personal matters, 
even of the first magnitude, is well exemplified in 
Mr. Cleveland's trip from Washington to New 
York to greet his bride-elect. A correspondent 
gives the following graphic description : 

*^ President Cleveland's last Sunday in bachelor- 
hood was one of quiet but busy preparation for 
his journey to New York, and the other and most 
interesting event of the coming week. He at- 
tended church to-day (May 30) with Miss Cleve- 
\i\nd and Miss Nelson, but the good and oratorical 
Dr. Sunderhind, the President's pastor, who is 
very proud of the part he has to perform on Wed- 
nesday, did not refer to the blissful event in prayer 
or sermon. After the service they drove to Sec- 
retary Manning's. They found Mr. Manning 
bright and cheerful, and he declared his purpose 
to attend the wedding. 

"The President left the White House at a little 
before four P. M. for the Baltimore and Potomac 
station. He drove around the back way, to and 
across the government reservation south of Penn- 
sylvania avenue, so that the loungers on that 
popular thoroughfare did not get a chance to give 
him a parting glance and God-speed. He was at 
the back door of the station before anybody knew 
it. 

" The fact that the President was to leave 
WashiuGfton for New York on the recrular Conirres- 
sional express had been announced for some days 
in the daily press, and the announcement was of- 
ficially confirmed at the White House. It was 



222 TUE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

stated also that there was to be no special train. 
Theotficial utterances of the White House, how- 
ever, are not implicitly relied upon in the da^s of 
a honey-moon, and the fact was not considered as 
well established until it was confirmed by the 
railroad officials. The Cabinet members of the 
President's party evidently understood that the 
train was to leave as on other days and came to 
the station early. 

" Some time before the Presidential party came, 
two mysterious-looking men, who kept their own 
counsel and whom no one knew, arrived, took up 
their position near the entrance to the private car, 
and seemed to make it their business to know who 
was present. There was a business headquarters 
look about them which reminded the lookers-on of 
similar strangers who were in attendance upon 
tiie President at the time of the inauguration, 
and who, it was afterwards discovered, were New 
York detectives, iuinished by the President's ex- 
cessively prudent friends as a body-guard. 

"One of these ever-present, ever-watchful 
strangers, save for his face which had a much hap- 
pier look, might have been taken for the President 
himself 

" The Cabinet party began to arrive, and the 
strangers moved from the gate a little to keep a 
close watch upon the car. If it was their puipose 
to keep the reporters away from the President 
they were unsuccessful, for the reporters were 
there in force. If they came to keep any one else 
away they were in like manner unsuccessful, for 
no one else had curiosity enough to come to the 
station in the hot sun. 

" Postmaster-General and Mrs. Vilas were the 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. ' 223 

first of the Presidential party to arrive, accom- 
panied by Assistant Postmaster-General Knott, of 
Maryland. Tlie latter, ivnown by virtue of his 
position to most railroad officials, had the side 
gate at once opened, and the Postmaster-General, 
Mrs. Vilas, Mrs. Lamont (who went as a guest of 
the party), Mr. and Mrs. Endicott, and Secretary 
Lamar at once walked down the long platform. 
They were the only members of the company, 
except the President himself and his valet, Henry, 
for wliom there was a long wait. The ladies at 
once entered the saloon parlor, at the rear of 
Vice-President Thomson's car. The drawing room 
in the front part of the car was reserved for Presi- 
dent Cleveland, and every blind and curtain in it 
was closely drawn. 

" The long wait that followed created uneasiness. 
The train was held three or four mimites. The 
President had not come. Then there was a 
movement and the word was passed along the 
scattered line : ' There he comes. He is coming 
the back way !' 

" Mr. Cleveland came in sight on the long plat- 
form from the Soutli End about live minutes after 
the time for the regular leaving of the train. He 
was accompanied by an assistant station-agent, 
who, in case of an accident, had apparently been 
stationed as a picket in the outfield. He had 
hardly put foot upon the platform when the be- 
lated train rapidly pulled out of the station." 

The date for the w^edding was fixed for June 
2d, 1886. The ceremony took place at the Exec- 
utive Mansion. 



224 THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

It was nearly seven o'clock in the evening when 
the wedding guests assembled in the Blue Room. 
Owing to the President's desire that the affair 
sliould be as private as possible, the Diplomatic 
Corps had not been invited, and the following 
guests were the only persons present : 

Mrs. Folsom, the mother of the bride ; Rev. W. 
N. Cleveland, the President's brother; Mrs. Hoyt 
ar.d Miss Cleveland, the President's sisters ; Mr. 
Bayard, Secretary of State ; Mr. Manning, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, with Mrs. Manning; Mr. 
Endicott, Secretary of War, with Mrs. Endicott; 
Mr. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, with Mrs. 
Whitney; Mr. Vilas, Postmaster-General, with 
Mrs. Vilas; Mr. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior; 
Colonel Lamont, Private Secretary, with Mrs. 
Lamont; Benjamin Folsom, Esq.; Mr. and Mrs. 
Rogers, of Seneca Falls, N. Y. ; Mrs. Cadman and 
Miss Huddleston, of Detroit; Mr. and Mrs. Har- 
mon, of Boston; Miss Nelson, of New York; W. 
S. Bissell, Esq., of Buffalo, and Dr. and Mrs. Byron 
Sunderland. The Attorney-General, though in- 
vited, was not present. 

The guests placed themselves in the form of a 
semicircle, Mr. Bayard being at the extreme left 
and Rev. Mr. Cleveland at the extreme right. 

The Marine Band, which was stationed in the 
ante-room, gave forth the dulcet strains of the 
perennial wedding-march of Mendelssohn as the 
Rev. Dr. Sunderland took his position at the south 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 225 

end of the room, and immediately after the bridal 
party entered. Miss Folsom leaned upon the 
President's arm, looking exceedingly pretty in her 
wedding-dress of cream-white satin. One skilled 
in the phraseology of the modiste has described 
this costume as follows: 

The dross was of thick ivory satin, with high, 
plain corsage, elbow sleeves, and very long train. 
The front breadth just below the waist was draped 
from fcide to side with soft silk India muslin, 
attached on the left side, and nearly joining the 
court train. The muslin was bordered with a nar- 
row band of orange flowers and leaves that out- 
lined the draping. The train, which was attached 
to the plain bodice just below the waist, measured 
over four j-ards in length, was slightly rounded 
and fell in full plaits on the floor, with no trimming 
but its own richness. Two scarfs of the muslin, 
starting from the shoulder seams, crossed the 
bosom in Grecian folds and were bordered Vv^ith a 
narrow band of orange flowers to correspond with 
the skirt. The scarfs disappeared under a girdle 
of satin, crossing the bodice from left to right. 
The sleeves were trimmed with folds of the mull 
and two or three orange buds and blossoms. The 
tulle veil, six yards in length, was fastened with a 
coronet of myrtle and orange blossoms above the 
high coifl'ure, its folds lightly covering the entire 
train. The general effect was that of exquisite 
simplicity, suited to the beauty of the bride. She 



226 THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

wore no jewelry and carried no hand-bouquet, but 
lightly held a superb white fan. 

The President wore the canonical evening suit 
of black. The bearing of the couple was dignified 
and impressive. They were followed by the few 
guests who were closely related to the contracting 
parties, and as soon as the usual hush of such 
occasions had fallen upon the assemblage Dr. Sun- 
derland offered up the following prayer : 

Almighty and Everlasting God, the Father of 
our spirits, the Framer of our bodies, the Giver of 
every good and perfect gift — Thou who canst see 
the end from the beginning, who knowest what is 
best for us Thy children, and hast appointed the 
holy rite of marriage to be sacredly observed 
throughout all generations — regard now, we be- 
seech Thee, Thy servant, our Chief Magistrate; 
endow him plenteously with Thy grace, and fill 
him with wisdom to walk in Thy ordinances. Be 
very nigh to him in the midst of many cares and 
grave responsibilities; day by day may thy law 
direct him and Thy strength uphold him, and be 
Thou forever his Sun and Shield. And be {gra- 
ciously pleased to look down upon this Thy 
daughter, even as Thou didst favor the chosen 
Rebecca and many noble women thjit have adorned 
the world. May she indeed be a precious boon 
of God to her husband, to cheer and help him 
continually — a woman gifted with the beauty of 
the Lord and shedding the sweet influence of a 
Christian life upon the nation in whose sight she 
is to dwell. Wilt Thou approve what we, Thy 
servants, come to do in Thy name, by Thine aa- 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 227 

thority and under the laws of the land in which 
we live ; and graciously assist them, this man and 
this woman, who are here to be united in the 
bonds of holy wedlock according to the institution 
of Thy words. Mercifully be pleased, Almighty 
God, to vouchsafe to each of them Thy grace, that 
they may well and truly weigh the unfailing vows 
which they are now about to make to each other 
in the presence of this company and before Thee, 
and that they may be enabled hereafter at all 
times so to live together as to rejoice in the solem- 
nization of this union with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen." 

The reverend doctor then performed the mar- 
riage ceremony in a manner at once solemn and 
impressive, the bride and groom making their re- 
sponses in clear tones. The ring was then passed 
and placed upon the bride's finger, and the two 
were pronounced man and wife. The following 
benediction was spoken by the Kev. Mr. Cleve- 
land : 

" God the Father, God the Son and God the 
Holy Ghost, bless, preserve and keep you; the 
Lord mercifully fill you with all temporal and all 
spiritual blessings, and grant that you may so live 
together in this world that in the world to come 
you may have life everlasting. Amen." 

The ceremony occupied ten minutes. The 
Rev. Mr. Cleveland came forward first to offer his 
congratulations, and kissed the bride. Mr. Whit- 



228 THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

ney followed and then Mr. Lamar and the rest. 
Upon Colonel Lainont's invitation the guests then 
entered the dining-room, where a collation was 
served. Very elegant white satin boxes contain- 
ing pieces of the wedding-cake were distributed 
as souvenirs, the date, June 2, 188G, being em- 
broidered in colors on the covers. 

Shortly after eight o'clock the President and 
Mrs. Cleveland left the supper-room, and presently 
reappeared in travelling-dress, prepared to take a 
special train to Deer Park, where they w^ere to 
pass the honey-moon. 

As to the pleasant way in which life went 
with them, no better picture can be obtained than 
that furnished by a correspondent of the New York 
World : 

"When the sun rose over the summit of Eacrle 
Rock this morning (June 4) there were no signs 
of life at the little cottage where President Cleve- 
land and his bride have made their home for the 
honey-moon. A tew clouds were in the sky, 
but with the breaking of day all was clear save a 
slight film that lowered from the north. In the 
valley below a heavy mist hung about the rocky 
cliffs and hid from view the little tributary of 
the Potomac, which, in the stillness of the moun- 
tains, could be heard rushing on below. As the 
sun rose higher a slight breeze sprang up from the 
east and stirred the leaves on the oaks around the 
executive cottau^e. A more beautiful mornimx 
could not have been. The cool, bracing air of the 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 229 

mountain was warmed bv the sun, and the clear 
atmosphere, like a huge magnifying glass, brought 
distant objects and the tops of the surrounding 
hills almost within reach. The first sound which 
broke the stillness was the voice of a joung 
peacock perched upon the chimney of Stephen B. 
Elkins' cottage, next that of the President. In a 
few moments the birds were singing under the 
window of the bridal chamber, nnd the second day 
of the honey-moon had fairly begun. A curl of 
smoke floated out of the chimney of the cottage at 
eight o'clock, and the breeze drifted lazily away over 
the side of the mountain into the valley below. 
The servants were up and had kindled a little 
blaze in the fire-place in the sitting-room, the 
blinds were opened and the piazza swept, and the 
cottage was awake. 

" Shortly after nine o'clock President Cleveland 
made his appearance for a moment at the front 
door, hat in hand, and after a few breaths of the 
mountain air passed out for a few moments' stroll 
in the rear of the cottage. He had hardly turned 
the corner of a little rustic summer house among 
the trees when Mrs. Cleveland stepped on the 
piazza and stood for some time looking about 
and towards the far-away hills. She was dressed 
as usual in her pearl-gray suit, but wore no hat. 
Over her shoulders was thrown a light shawl. 

^' After walking the length of the piazza several 
times she seated herself in a wicker rocking-chair 
and continued to enjoy the charming scenery. 
Both the President and his bride seemed fresh and 
bright after their long night's rest. At five minutes 
after ten o'clock the President came up the steps 
of the porch, and taking Mrs. Cleveland's arm, 



230 THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 

retired to tlie dininir-room, where breakfast was 
waiting them. While they were enjoying their 
morning meal an incident occurred, which, had 
Mr. Cleveland known of it, would probabl}' for 
once have relaxed the police vigilance \vith which 
the cotta2:e is iiruarded. An old colored woman 
shambled slowly up the path in front of the house, 
and encountering the sentry on post asked to be 
allowed to see the President. She led by one 
hand a little curly-headed boy, and in the other 
carried a bouquet of wild flowers which she had 
plucked for Mrs. Cleveland. The old woman had 
journeyed all night from over the hills from her 
little hut on the side of the mountain at Swanton, 
ten miles away. She wore an old faded calico- 
print dress, with a red bandanna handkerchief 
around her neck and up over her head in lieu of a 
hat, while her toes protruded from a pair of 
venerable slippers. Under her arm w^as an 
umbrella and a well-worn carpet-bag which ante- 
dated the last war. 

" The guard told her that he would receive no 
visitors. Tbinking that after her long journey she 
could not be refused, the old woman would hear 
of no such answer. Finally, after a half-hour's 
argument, the poor old creature broke down and 
cried piteously. She pointed to her child and 
begged that he might at least be allowed to look 
at the President, but finding her entreaties of no 
avail she slowly and sadly took her child in her 
arms and with tears in her eyes started back over 
the hills to her hut. 

" The poor old negro and her child were not the 
ordy disap[)()inted visitors at the executive cottage. 
Hundreds of people who had heard of the arrival 



THE FIRST LADY OF THE LAND. 231 

of the bridal party lost no time in hastening to 
get a look at the couple. The stalls around the 
village church, and in front of the country stores 
were crowded full of every conceivable style of 
rural vehicle. The people had journeyed to Deer 
Park from their homes miles away, and all were 
intent upon getting at least one good view of the 
President and his bride." 

Since that time Mrs. Cleveland has been the 
recipient of many attentions. She has lived in 
the eye of the public. At social receptions, at 
railway stations, on her journeys from place to 
place, on public occasions, and, in short, wher- 
ever her presence has been made known, she 
has been the object of universal interest. No 
*' first lady of the land " ever before received so 
much attention. Her youth, her graceful dignity, 
her striking personal appearance, her winning 
ways, have thrown around her a charm, and her 
friends cannot but hope that she may grace her 
present position during our next national adminis- 
tration. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION OF 1888. 

The Forces Gathering — Profuse Decorations — Brillant 
Scene — Statues, Flags and Eagles— La R(".e Deputation 

FROM BUFFAL(^ — NaMING TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN— SpEECH OF 

Chairman White — GitT of a solid Silver Gavel from 
Colorado— Red Handkekciiiefs waving for Thurman — 
Appointment of CoMMirrioEs — General Pat Collins chosen 
Permanent Chairman — Collins' Speech on taking the 
chair — P^loquent Exposition of De.mocratic Principles- 
Daniel Dougherty nominates President Cleveland — 
Great Enthusiasm— Long-continued Chkering— Unveil- 
ing FULL-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF PRESIDENT CLEVELAND— KEN- 
TUCKY Seconds the Nomination — Georgia adds a warm 
commendation — Last Day of the Convention— The inevi- 
table Bandanna — Nomination of Thurman— His virtues 
extolled — Speeches Seconding the Nomination — Enthu- 
siastic Indorsement of the great Ohioan — The Platform. 

At St. Louis, June 5, the Democratic National 
Convention began to gather in the early hours of 
the inorninir, althon<]^h the cravel of Chairman Bar- 
nuin, of the national committee, did not announce 
its opening until afternoon. The trickling stream 
of humanity wliich began to run into the big Ex- 
position Building as early as eight o'clock, grew to 
a torrent wliich surired in and filled the ijreat nave 
of the hall to overilowing, and long before noon 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 233 

ten thousand faces gazed upon the high desk re- 
served for the presiding officer of the Convention. 
The decorations were simple but effective. The 
stage was hung Avith red, white and blue bunting, 
relieved bv festoons and borders of evers^reens. 
Upon a pedestal on the right of the entrance 
of the stage stood a bust of the President, and 
suspended upon the face of the gallery above the 
stage, heavily framed in gilt, was a large portrait 
of the President in oil. On either side were simi- 
lar portraits of Cleveland, Hancock, Tilden, Hen- 
dricks and ex-Governor Martnaduke, of Missouri. 

AMERICAN FLAGS IN PROFUSION. 

The balcony and gallery pillars and the face of 
the long winding galleries and the fronts of the 
balconies were profusely decorated with American 
flags in alternate long and short festoons cauirht 
up with large red, white and blue rosettes. Fes- 
toons of American flags and red, white and blue 
bunting hung from the open woodwork supporting 
the roof, and tlie high graceful pillars which sup- 
port the rafters were bound with encircling gar- 
lands and ropes of evergreens. Bending grace- 
fully from the capitals of the cohnnns which up- 
hold the gallery were drooping branches of cedar 
and pine, and upon the faces of the columns above 
huns: bannerettes bearimr the arms of the States 
of the Union. 

In the backo-round alons; the hall was a more 



234 STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 

elaborate attempt at decoration — a heroic statue 
of Washington on horseback, framed in a festoon 
of large American flags, which were cauglwt in the 
centre of the frame above the head of the statue 
by an American shield surmounted by an American 
eagle with wide-spread pinions, grasping in his 
talons a sheaf of green wheat. The statue, which 
had the appearance of marble, was highly relieved 
by a background of rich, brown plush, silk draped 
curtains. 

The flrst organized body to put in an appearance 
^\as the Cleveland Democracy, of Buffalo. It 
made a complete tour of the upper gallery, its 
handsome crimson banner leading the van and the 
fine band playing " Dixie." It finally settled down 
just over the platform, in a splendid position to 
view everything and everybody in the hall. 
'' Dixie " was followed by " The Red, White and 
Blue," a medley, and the two bands at either end 
of the long hall played against each other until 
the Hendricks Club, of Indianapolis, joined the 
Buffalo men with another band. The crimson 
banner bearing Cleveland's name and the blue 
velvet banner of the Indianians, bearing that of 
Hendricks, were hung from the gallery behind the 
presiding oflficer's desk, in plain view of everybody, 
divided only by an eagle surmounting a shield. 
It was a pretty tribute to the old ticket and was 
greeted with rounds of applause. The hall began 
to fill up rapidly after this. The delegates were 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 235 

the slowest in getting in. Some of them came 
singly, others in bodies. The Pennsylvania boys 
marched to the hall under the escort of the Ran- 
dall Association, of Philadelphia, and its band. 

THE OPENING SCENES. 

When the Convention was called to order the 
scene was an inspiring one. Back of the dele- 
gates rose tier after tier of spectators, a vast, un- 
dulating sea of heads and faces. Up in the gal- 
leries the briii;ht ribbons of the ladies and the 
highly-colored fans fluttered among the red, white 
and blue and the silver stars and the graceful 
folds of bunting. The morning was close and 
muggy and threatened rain, but w4ien Chairman 
Barnum and Secretary Frederick 0. Prince came 
upon the platform the sun burst through the clouds, 
and through the windows of the convention hall as 
well, and started out in regular earnest to heat up 
the atmosphere. 

Hon. Stephen M. W. White, of California, was 
selected by the National Committee for Temporary 
Chairman. A committee escorted Mr. White amid 
great entliusiasm to the chair, and Mr. Barnum 
then introduced him to the Convention in the fol- 
lowing words : ^' Gentlemen of the Convention, I 
have the pleasure and the honor to present to this 
Convention Stephen M. W. White, of California." 

CHAIRMAN white's SPEECH. 

Upon taking the chair Mr. White said : 



236 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Qentlemenof the Convent Ion : Profoundly grate 
ful for the distinction just conferred upon me, I am 
nevertheless conscious that 1 have been chosen for 
this position because of your appreciation of that 
important section of our common country from 
whence I come. I congratulate yon not merely as 
Democrats, but as American citizens, on theen- 
courairimr circumstances which attend the inauii;- 
uration of our proceedings. 

Up to the late Presidential election the Republi- 
can party declared that Democratic success I'^.eant 
national ruin, and that whatever might be said of 
the crinies and transactions of those then in au- 
thorit}', 3"et to no other keeping could the welfare 
of the United States be safely confided. This 
doctrine was repudiated at the polls, and the ex- 
perience of almost four years has demonstrated 
that those changes were unwarranted and that the 
people were right in demanding and compelling 
a radical change. 

The platform of principles adopted at our last 
National Convention prescribed with accuracy the 
rules of conduct which should control governmental 
action. Grover Cleveland was selected hy ithat 
Convention as a man whose firmness, ability, 
integrit}' and statesmanlike qualities pre-eminently 
iitted him to undertjike the task of carrying out 
the great reforms thus suggested by the organiza- 
tion to whose tenets he had ever been ready to 
yield compliance. No public servant ever responded 
to the call "of chity UKjre fully or in better faith 
than our honored Piesident. Unostentatious in 
the discharge of his trust, he has never filled 
to Mpply to affairs of state those sound business 
maxims the observance of which is even more 
necessary in public than in private station. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 237 

For years it had been generally conceded that it 
was necessnrv to reform the tariff. The existinsj 
law on the suliject had been called into being dur- 
ing the excitement and because of the exigencies 
of war. The Republican party, while not denying 
the necessity for reform, has ever failed to suggest 
any remedy and has universally thwarted the eflbrts 
of the Democracy to afford the needed relief. 

The present administration has realized the 
promises made by the Democratic Convention of 
1884. It has sought to reduce taxation and lighten 
the burdens of the people and to reduce the revenue 
so as to prevent undue accumuhuion in the treas- 
ury, and has at the same time taken the requisite 
steps to foster and protect domestic industries. It 
has discouraged the centralization of wealth and 
has enabled, so far as circumstances would permit, 
those in the less favored walks of life to enjoy 
the benefits of their exertions. In other words, 
the Democratic administration has set its utmost 
endeavors to carry out the platform on which our 
great reform victory was achieved. If the tariff 
has not been modified it is because of Republican 
obstruction. A new generation has come upon 
the scene. They love their country better than 
the delusion of an empty name. They know that 
the glory and advancement of the republic is 
dependent on general co-operation. While they 
glory in their fathers' heroic deeds they yet believe 
that unkind words and exaggerated references to 
the past are not promotive of present harmony, of 
future prosperity, and that an administration which 
treats alike and recognizes that there is no distinc- 
tion before the law of race or section is best calcu- 
lated to further the general interest and to perpet- 
uate the blessings of liberty. 



238 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

The honest, intelligent elector whose judgment 
is untainted by prejudice is prepared to again en- 
trust this government to the Democratic party. 
That that party has accomplished so much, not- 
withstanding the continued opposition of its foes, 
is ample evidence that during the next four years 
its policy will be finally and completely adopted. 
The coming contest will result in the triumph of 
Democracy. The nominees of this Convention will 
be the chosen representatives of the people, and if 
we do our duty the Republican party will hence- 
forward be unable to retard the progress of our 
country. 

A GIFT FROM COLORADO. 

Mr. Patterson, of Colorado, rose in behalf of Ine 
Colorado Democracy and held in his hand a hand- 
some silver gavel. He said : 

I crave the indulgence of this Convention to 
present to it for use by its chairman a solid silver 
gavel. It was wrought from Colorado mines and 
fashioned by Colorado artisans. It is the modest 
offering of the youngest member of the Federal 
Union to that party that restored silver to the 
monetary plane from which it was degraded 
through the Republican Congressional conspiracy 
of 1873, and that has ever since remained its con- 
sistent champion. May the announcement be 
made to the civilized world through its silvery 
tones of the second unanimous nomination of the 
people's choice for President — Grover Cleveland. 
[Great applause.] 

" If there is no objection," said the chairman, 
" and I assume that there will be none, this pres- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 239 

ent will be deemed accepted. It is solid silver 
and as far as gavel can do it you will liave to be 
ruled by silver.'* [Great applause.] 

THE ENTHUSIASM FOR THURMAN. 

Just before the gavel was brought into use there 
was a scene w^hich made things interesting for a 
few minutes. California started it apparently on 
a prearranged plan. One of the delegates from 
that State made a liberty cap out of a red bandanna 
and placed it upon the top of the delegation ban- 
ner. In a moment the air was filled with red 
handkerchiefs. They were quickly tied to the 
ends of umbrellas and canes and waved frantically 
in the air amid tremendous applause. 

The movement was catchimr. Nevada also 
hoisted the red handkerchief to the top of its ban- 
ner pole ; West Virginia hastened to get into line, 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Missouri, 
Arkansas, Massachusetts, Florida and Wisconsin 
swung out the distinguishing badge of the Thur- 
man movement, and cheers greeted every one that 
was unfurled. 

After the appointment of several committees, 
the Convention adjourned to 10 o'clock on Wed- 
nesday, June 6. 

The delegates were slow in gathering for the 
second day's session of the Democratic National 
Convention. The galleries were filled long before 
the factors in the selection of a President and 



240 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Vice-President had begun to Jirrive. It waS hot — 
insufferably so — and thousands of fans of all 
shapes, sizes and colors began an early campaign 
against the heat. There was the same vast as- 
semblaa:e — the beauties of St. Louis in the boxes 
of the national committee-men, the privileged 
spectators in the two immense galleries and an 
array of men way back upon the tiers of seats 
behind the delegates and alternates. Many of 
these removed their coats and vainly endeavored 
to keep coul. It was an almost useless under- 
taking, and long before the Convention was called 
to order ten thousand spectators were sweltering 
in the kind of atmosphere that *St. Louis people 
know all about. 

THE CENTRE OF INTEREST. 

Interest among the delegates had been running 
all day to the platform. The committee on reso- 
lutions was still wrestling with it at 10 o'clock, 
and the various delegations hung upon the cable 
cars with precarious footholds or struggled panting 
and breathless along the pavements to the hall 
without knowing what was going to happen. The 
spectators grew fm patient and watched eagerly for 
any diversion. If any one among them picked 
out a prominent delegate as the latter strayed 
alonir the aisles, he was sure to raise a cheer which 
the others took up. 

"The Convention will come to order," pro- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 241 

claimed Chairman White, at half-past ten o'clock, 
and there was a scurrying along the aisles for seats. 
The Rev. J. P. Green, of Missouri, asked for 
God's hlessing upon the Convention. 

GENERAL COLLINS CHOSEN. 

Mr. Cassidy, of Pennsylvania, then arose and 
said : " I am instructed by the committee to report 
that they have unanimously agreed upon General 
Patrick A. Collins, of Massachusetts, for perma- 
nent chairman." [Cheers.] After the cheers which 
came with the aimouncement of General Collins* 
selection had subsided the secretary read the list 
of vice-presidents and the representatives of each 
State to notify the nominees of the Convention of 
its results. The following report was then unan- 
imously adopted : 

The order of business of the last National Demo- 
cratic Convention shall obtain, and the rules of 
said Convention shall govern this Convention with 
the modification, viz.: 

That no State shall change its vote for Presi- 
dent or Vice-President until call of the States has 
been completed. Your committee further recom- 
mend that there cording secretaries, reading clerks, 
official stenographers and sergeants-at-arms of the 
temporary organization hold their offices under 
the permanent organization. 

Lewis C. Cassidy, Chairman. 

John B. Castleman^ Secretary. 

MR. COLLINS takes THE CHAIR. 

The chair appointed William H. Barnum, of 



242 STEPHEN GROVER CLEYELAND. 

Connecticut ; RoswoU P. Flower, of New York, 
and John O'Day, of Missouri, as a coinniittee to 
escort Patrick A. Collins to the chair. 

This announcement produced uproarious ap- 
plause throughout the Convention, which was 
continued especially by the Massachusetts dele- 
gation, whose members arose and stood upon their 
chairs and gave three times three for their favorite. 
The gentlemen appointed to escort Mr. Collins to 
the chair proceeded to his seat and brought him 
forward. When Mr. Collins had mounted the 
platform he Avas greeted by a shake of the hands 
by Mr. White, the temporary chairman, after 
which the chairman said : 

Gentlemen of the Convention, thaking you for 
the favor which you have accorded me and for the 
great consideration which has been extended to 
me during the time I have presided over your 
deliberations as temporary presiding officer, I take 
pleasure in introdnciiig to you your permanent 
presiding officer, the Hon. Patrick A. Collins, of 
Massachusetts. 

This moment was tlie occasion of another out- 
burst of applause, which lasted so long that cries 
of" Sit down, sit down," were heard from different 
parts of the hall. 

After pacing an eloquent tribute to the princi- 
ples enunciated by Jefferson, " which," the orator 
said, *' guide us still in our onward march as a 
free and prosperous people," Mr. Collins continued : 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 243 

True to these principles, the Democratic party 
fought successfully our foreign wars, protected our 
citizens in every clime, compelled the respect of 
all nations for our flag, added imperial domain to 
our territory and insured peace, prosperity and 
happiness to all our people. False to these prin- 
ciples, the great Federal, Whig and Know-Noth- 
ing parties went down, never to rise, and we are 
here to-day representatives of the party that has 
survived all others, the united, triumphant, invin- 
cible Democracy, prepared to strike down forever 
the last surviving foe in November. 

Our standard must be the rallying-point now 
and in the future for all good citizens who love 
and cherish republican institutions, who love lib- 
erty regulated by the Constitution and law, who 
believe in a government not for a class or for a 
few, but a government of all the people by all the 
people, and for all the people. This has been the 
asylum for all good men from over the earth who 
flee from want and oppression and mean to become 
Americans. But we invite and welcome only 
^'friends to this ground and liegemen" to the Re- 
public. Our institutions cannot change to meet 
hostile wishes nor be so much as sensibly modified 
save by the peaceful and deliberate action of the 
mass of our people in accordance with the Consti- 
tution and the laws of the land. We owe it to 
our political institutions, to Democratic teachings, 
at least as much as to the exuberant soil. The 
man is not a good American who, knowing what 
we are, by act or word, experiment or thought, in 
any way will attempt to weaken the foundation 
of this splendid structure — the Republic of the 
United States. 



244 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

We meet to-day under conditions new to the 
Democrats of this generation. How often we stood 
in conventions in the past when to others it 
seemed as if the shadows of death closed about 
us, when the day of victory seemed ahnost as far 
away as the day of general judgment. It could 
not then be said that we met for spoils or personal 
advantage. We met to keep the fires of Demo- 
cratic liberty alive till the dawn of a better day 
If we were a party of misfortune, it must also be 
agreed that we were a parly of undaunted courage 
and indexible principles. 

The Republican pa ty — sometimes peacefully 
and sometimes by force ; sometimes fairly and 
sometimes by fraud — succeeded in holding power 
twenty-four years, till at last the American people, 
no longer condoning its faults or forgiving its sins, 
hurled it from power and again committed to the 
historic party of the Constitution and the whole 
Union the aduiinistration of our political affairs. 

We won by the well-earned confidence of the 
country in the rectitude of our purpose, by the 
aid of chivalrous and conscientious men who could 
no longer brook the corruptions of the Republican 
party. It was great, deserved, necessary victory. 

The day on which Grover Cleveland, the plain, 
straightibrward, typical American citizen chosen at 
the election, took the oath of office in the presence 
of the multitude, a day so lovely and so perfect 
that all nature seemed exuberantly to sanction and 
to celebrate the victory — that day marked the 
close of the old era and the beguining of a new 
one. 

No president in time of peace had so difficult 
and laborious a duty to perform. His party had 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 245 

been out of power for twenty-four years. Every 
member of it had been almost venomously ex- 
cluded from the smallest post where administra- 
tion could be studied. Every place was filled by 
men whose interest it was to thwart inquiry and 
belittle the new administration ; but the master 
hand came to the helm, and the true course has 
been kept from the beginning. 

We need not wait for time to do justice to the 
character and services of President Cleveland. 
Honest, clear-sighted, patient, grounded in respect 
for law and justice; with a thorougii grasp of 
principles and situations; with marvelous and 
conscientious industry; the very incarnation of 
firmness — he has nobly fulfilled the promise of his 
party, nobly met the expectations of his country 
and written his name high on the scroll where 
future Americans will read the names of men who 
have been supremely useful to the Republic. Fellow 
Democrats, this is the initial meeting in a political 
campaign destined to be memorable. It will be a 
clashing of nearly even forces. Let no man here 
or elsewhere belittle or underestimate the strength 
or resources of the opposition. But, great as they 
are, the old Democratic party, in conscious strength 
and perfect union, faces the issue fearlessly. 

Mr. Collins' speech was several times inter- 
rupted by enthusiastic applause. 

When the time for making nominations arrived, 
and Alabama was called, the chairman of the del- 
egation rose and gracefully yielded the floor to 
New York. 



246 stephen grover cleveland. 

President Cleveland Nominated. 
Hon. Daniel Doughertj^, to whom had been 
assigned tlie honor of making the nomination, 
stepped to the phitform, and, after the applause 
that greeted his appearance subsided, spoke as 
follows : 

I greet you, my countrymen, with fraternal re- 
gard ; in your presence I bow to the majesty of 
the people ; the sight itself is inspiring, the thought 
sublime. You come from every State and Terri- 
tory, from every nook and corner of our ocean- 
bound, continent-coverinf]^ countrv. You are about 
to discharge a more than imperial duty with sim- 
plest ceremonials. You, as representatives of the 
people, are to choose a magistrate with power 
mightier than a monarch, yet checked and con- 
trolled by the supreme law of a written Constitu- 
tion. 

Tiius impressed, I ascend the rostrum to name 
the next President of the United States. New 
York presents him to the convention and pledges 
her electoral vote. Delegations from the thirty- 
eight States and all the Territories are assembled 
without caucus or consultation, ready simulta- 
neously to take up the cry and make the vote 
unanimous. We are here not indeed to choose a 
candidate, but to name the one the people have 
already chosen. 

He is the man for the people; his career illus- 
trates the glory of our institutions. Eight years 
ago unknown save in his own locality, lie for the 
last four years has stood in the gaze of the world 
discharging the most exalted duties that can 
be confided to a mortal. To-day determines that 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 247 

not of his own choice, but by the mandate of his 
countrymen and with the sanction of Heaven, he 
shall fill the Presidency for four years more. 

He has met and mastered ever}^ question as 
if from youth trained to statesman:?!hip. The 
promises of his letter of acceptance and inaugural 
address have been fulfilled. His fidelity in the 
past inspires faith in the future. He is not a 
hope. He is a realization. 

Scorning subterfuge, disdaining re-election by 
concealing convictions, mindful of his oath of 
office to defend the Constitution, he courageously 
declares to Congress, dropping minor matters, that 
the supreme issue is reform, revision, reduction of 
national taxation ; that the Treasury of the 
United States, glutted with unneeded gold, op- 
presses industry, embarrasses business, endangers 
financial tranquility and breeds extravagance, 
centralization and corruption. That high taxa- 
tion, vital for the expenditures of an unparalleled 
war, is robbery in years of prosperous peace. 
That the millions that pour into the Treasury 
•come from the hard earned savin2:s of the 
American people. That in violation of equality 
of rights the present tariff has created a privileged 
class, who, shaping legislation for their personal 
gain, levy by law contributions for the necessaries 
of life from every man, woman and child in the 
land. That to lower the tariff is not free trade. 
It is to reduce the unjust profits of monopolists 
and boss manufacturers and allow consumers to 
retain the rest. 

The man who asserts that to lower the tariff 
means free trade insults intelligence. We brand 
him as a falsifier. It is furthest from thought 



248 STEPHEN GROVER CLETELAND. 

to imperil capital or disturb enterprises. The aim 
is to upliold wages and protect the righta of all. 

This administration has rescued the public 
domain from would-be barons and cormorant 
corporations faithless to obligations and reserved 
it for free homes for this and coming generations. 

There is no pilfering. There are no jobs under 
this administnition. Public office is a public trust. 
Integrity stands guard at every post of our vast 
empire. 

While the President has been the medium 
through which has flowed the undying gratitude 
of the Republic for her soldiers, he has not hesi- 
tated to withhold approval from special legislation 
if strictest inquiry revealed a want of truth and 
justice. 

Above all, sectional strife, as never before, 
is at an end and 60,000,000 of freemen in the ties 
of brotherhood are prosperous and happy. 

These are the achievements of this administra- 
tion. Under the same illustrious leader we are 
ready to meet our political opponents in high and 
honorable debate and stake our triumph on the 
intelligence, virtue and patriotism of the people, 
adhering to the Constitution, its every line and 
letter, ever remembering that " powers not dele- 
gated to the United States by the Constitution nor 
prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the 
States respectively or to the people." By the 
authority of the Democracy of New York, backed 
by the Democracy of the entire Union, I give 30U 
a name entwined with victory. I nominate Grover 
Cleveland, of New York. 

ENTHUSIASM AT WHITE HEAT. 

Mr. Dougherty's speech in the Convention was 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 249 

skilfully adapted to its purpose. Its simplicity 
was its strength. While the impression on read- 
ing it is one of extreme plainness, it will be seen 
that it is made up of a succession of short, em- 
phatic periods, every one of which was an irre- 
sistible incentive to applause. 

In this way the speech was suited to its subject. 
Mr. Cleveland is not a candidate to be presented 
in a blaze of fireworks. As Mr. Dougherty puts 
it, with an epigrammatic terseness suggestive of 
Cleveland himself, "He is not a hope; he is a 
realization." There was no need of rhetorical 
display to quicken the faith inspired by the man 
himself. 

All accounts agree that the presentation of Mr. 
Cleveland's name was received in the Convention 
with an enthusiasm that has scarcely been ex- 
celled at the nomination of any of the most popu- 
lar candidates of either party in the past, and this 
without any of that artificial excitement that is 
engendered by a contest. The fact is a very sig- 
nificant indication that Mr. Cleveland's leadership 
is not that of an oflBcial despot controlling un- 
willing slaves, as some Republican writers repre- 
sent, still less a mere result of the accident of 
office, as is somewhat inconsistently suggested by 
the same class of his opponents, but that it has 
been fairly w^on by his personal strength and cour- 
age, and is freely and spontaneously accorded him 
by the great popular sentiment of his party. 



250 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

WILD EXCITEMENT. 

When Mr. Dougherty finished his speech, at 
six and a half minutes after 12, the delegates and 
the audience set up a yell. After simply yelling 
for half a minute they began to get enthused and 
some of the more ardent took off their coats and 
began waving them. About this time the door of 
the Capitol at the rear of the platform was swung 
aside and in the panel appeared a portrait of 
Cleveland occupying the centre of the facade of 
the Capitol. 

Then the delegates and the audience simply 
went wild, and with a furious energy worked their 
voices in their efforts to show their approval of 
the nomination. A band somewhere in the c:al- 
leries started up '' Marchinir Throujxh Georgia" 
and elicited a tremendous outbreak of cheers. At 
this time about a third of the delegates and per- 
haps a fourth of the audience produced bandanna 
handkerchiefs and waved them frantically, and in 
response to this fresh incentive there was an ad- 
ditional swell in the terrific outburst of noise. 
One man in the gallery took his new hat off and 
sent it sailing across the space over the heads of 
the delegates, and it was caught by a party in the 
opposite gallery with the expertness of a profes- 
sional base-ball player. 

A GREAT DEMONSTRATION. 

After eight minutes of bedlam Chairman Col- 



STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 251 

lins thouglit the thing had gone far enough and 
thumped and pounded for order, but with every 
thump of the gavel arose a new section of yells 
from tlie assemblage, and Chairman Collins relin- 
quished the job in despair. 

At this juncture Daniel Dougherty mounted a 
chair in the centre of the New York delegation 
and waved a flag. From all parts of the hall 
delegates gathered about Dougherty, bearing the 
standards of their respective States, and formed in 
a circle about him, holding in a sort of canopy 
over his head the placards bearing the names of 
the States. 

In marked distinction from the scarlet bandan- 
nas, the standards of Indiana and Kansas were 
decorated with stripes of black silk, indicating the 
adherence of the parties who bore them to the 
cause of the present Commissioner of Pensions. 
Under the canopy formed by the standards a couple 
of United States flags were introduced, and the 
tableau as thus completed was greeted with a 
pandemoniac chorus of cheers and howls and 
yells. 

Among the audience in the rear of the dele- 
gates a number of people produced a flock of big, 
yellow eagles, which, by some arrangement, were 
made to flap their wings. 

When the demonstration at last subsided, John 
B. Castleman and A. G. Dejarnette, of Kentucky, 
carried the Kentucky standard on the platform 



252 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

and planted it beside the chairman's desk to em- 
phasize the second which Kentucky proposed on 
Grover Cleveland. 

Eighteen minutes of unadulterated bedlam 
seemed to be enough to suit the delegates and 
they sank back into their seats, but the audience 
was not satisfied with the allotment of time and 
continued the uproar two minutes longer, when 
they were finally brought to order. 

Kentucky's second. 

Mr. McKenzie, of Kentucky, then took the 
platform and addressed the Convention as fol- 
lows: 

Gentlemen of the Nafioiml Convention : I bear 
the commission of the State of Kentucky to this 
National Convention, and in the nan)e of the 
Commonwealth that has given to that State a 
Clay and a Crittenden I desire to second the 
nomination of Grover Clevelnnd for the office of 
the Presidency of the United States. [Great ap- 
plause and wild cheering.] 

Within the broad limits of this oreat land there 
is but one more popular Democrat than he. and 
that is the queenly woman he has made his wife. 
[Great applause.] It must be, Mr. Chairman, a 
matter of lelicitation to every good citizen within 
the limits of our land that the historic White 
House, around which cluster so nianv memories 
that are dear to every patriotic heart, is presided 
over by a man who has the courage to enforce 
obedience to bad laws until they be repealed and 



st?:fiien grovkr Cleveland. 253 

ivcommend the enactment of good ones until they 
yhall be enacted. [Apphiuse.] 

At the same time its social destinies are guided 
by the fair hand of the uncrowned queen of our 
American womanhood. I never intend to let 
Mrs. Clevehand out of tliis canvass. [Laughter 
and apphiuse.] In, Jion gigno iniices, EcHpse first, 
the bahince not placed. [Laughter and applause.] 

The State of Kentucky loves Mr. Cleveland for 
the reason that he has had the courage to storm 
the entrenchments of subsidy and monopoly by 
recommending such a judicious revision of our 
tariff system as will secure equality in the distri- 
bution of the public burdens and lighten the ex- 
actions of labor. [Applause.] 

Mr. Chairuian and gentlemen : I move to sus- 
pend the rules and make the nomination of Grover 
Cleveland for President of the United States ab- 
solutely unanimous. [Great applause.] 



GEORGL\ SPEAKS. 

Judge H. D. D. Twiggs, of Georgia: 

2Ir. Preside7it and Gentlemen of the Convention : 
The great State of Georgia, which I have the 
honor in part to represent on this occasion, is 
proud to second the nomination of Grover Cleve- 
land. He has been conspicuous in his fidelity to 
the great principles of Democracy and economical 
government, which under our system of government 
have found their highest expression in his able, 
splendid and magnificent administration. [Ap 
pi ..use.] 



254 STEPHEN GROYER CLEVELAND. 

Gentlemen of the Convention : Monopoly has 
said to the people of the South, ^' You are poor; 
build up your factories, diversify your industries. 
Protection has made us opulent; it will make you 
likewise." The State of Georgia, already vocal with 
the music of a million spindles, has given back 
her reply. Liftiiig aloft her proud and untarnished 
shield, on which is inscribed her motto, '* Wisdom, 
Justice and Moderation," she has said to this artful 
bribe : " We may be poor, but we are unwilling to 
grow rich by the levying of tribute upon the peo- 
ple." [Applause.] 

Gentlemen of the Convention: The twentv-four 
delegates of Georgia have come to this conclusion, 
bearing with them but a single commission, and 
that commission is to cast the vote of the State 
for that matchless leader whom our late Conven- 
tion in its phitlbrm of principles characterized as 
uniting the wisilom of Jeffierson with the firmness 
of Jacksc n and the patriotism of Washington. 
[Cheers.] What is true of Georgia is true of 
every other Democratic State here represented, 
and it might be truthfully stated, gentlemen, that 
this vast and grand assemblage of patriots and 
Democrats may be called but a formal convocation 
assembled to^j^ether to ratifv the action of the 
sovereignties which have already spoken. [Cheers.] 
The great Democratic masses of the country, with 
elbows touching, have marched in solid and un- 
broken phalanx to this great city by the father 
of waters. Upon each flowing banner is inscribed 
but a solitary name, and that name has been their 
})illar of cloud by day and their pillar of (ire by 
night. That name has been Grover Cleveland. 
[Cheers.] 



STEPHEN GKOVER CLEVELAND. 25-3 

With a mighty shout, yes, I say with a mighty 
shout, he will be proclaimed our next standard- 
bearer in the coming contlict. [Cheers.] The 
people at home are becoming rapidly educated, 
and we cannot be much longer kept in ignorance 
of the great truths and principles of which he is 
the splendid exponent. They will ratify that 
nomination kxt the polls, for as sure as the ides 
of November come the Republican party of the 
United States will have received its death-wound 
and final overthrow. [Applause.] 

The Convention then adjourned to Thursday, 
June 7th, at 10 o'clock. 

LAST DAY OF THE CONVENTION. 

For the third time the Convention hall was 
packed. There must have been fully twelve 
thousand people within seeing distance of the 
platform. As usual the spectators were on hand 
early. It was the day of the only real chance for 
a contest, and there was an air of expectancy in 
the crowded galleries. Any kind of a fight would 
have been acceptable to the thousands of onlookers. 

It was a pretty scene before the Convention was 
called to order. The fair faces of the belles of 
St. Louis peered over the gallery railings, and the 
three sections of seats on the floor divided by the 
two aisles, running the entire length of th.e hall, 
looked like so many inmiense toboggan slides. 
So dense was the mass of shining faces that they 
appeared alm.ost like a. bright and solid surface.. 



256 STEPHEN' GROVER CLEVELAND. 

BANDANNAS EVERYWHERE. 

The prevailing decoration was red. It cropped 
out everywhere. Everybody with a cane or an 
umbreHa in the galleries had a bandanna on it. 
Here and there a patch of gray cambric marked a 
preference for the Indiana Governor, but the 
patches were made prominent only because of 
their scarcity in the vast garden of red. When 
the California people began to gather, their stand- 
ard was promptly decorated with one of the 
bandannas thev had brou2^ht from the Pacific with 
tliem. At this time the floor was in a state of 
confusion. All the delegates were on their feet. 
Delegation after delegation hoisted the red flag, 
cheered on by the salutes and huzzas of the gal- 
leries. 

thurman's name presexted. 

In proposing the name of Ex-Senator Thurman 
Delegate Tarpey, of California, said : 

*' That I am proud of the privilege of address- 
ing you I acknowledge, but that I am prouder still 
of the man whom I shall name, I will not deny, 
for I feel, sirs, that this republic holds no superior 
to Hon. Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio. 

"Allen G. Thurman ! What an epitome of Amer- 
ican civil history is embodied in that name! Mis 
character and ability are known to every man, 
woman and child in the land. His public ser- 
vices will be a more enduring monument than 
temples of stone or brass, for history will inscribe 
his name among the list of America's illustrious 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 257 

Bons. Large at heart, large of brain and larger still 
in experience, he is the man of all men whose record 
justifies his nomination at your hands in the 
sense that he cannot be defeated before the people. 

" His fame is not his alone ; it is the proud 
heritage of the American people. His name may 
be most fittingly coupled with that of our honored 
President, Grover Cleveland. Cleveland and 
Thurman will be a ticket absolutely invincible. 
It will sweep the country with a mighty rush, a 
tidal wave of approval. Against it all opposition 
will be fruitless. The approval of Cleveland's ad- 
ministration during the past four years and in- 
dorsement of his actions, the simplicity, yet re- 
markable ability, with which he has administered 
his great trust under the most trying circumstances, 
coupled with the all-pervading affection felt for 
the philosopher of Columbus, w^ill made Cleveland 
and Thurman a war-cry to affright the political 
enemy. The enthusiasm which will be aroused 
upon its announcement will be infectious, and 
gathering force and volume day by day it will be- 
fore the ides of November have become epidemic. 

" They are both the favorite sons of their re- 
spective States, but when Allen G. Thurman, the 
favorite son of each and every State in this Union, 
in answer to the universal demand for his accept- 
ance, consents to leave the peace and tranquility 
of his fire-side and again serve liis grateful country- 
men, so prominent, so colossal is his political and 
mental figure in the public eye that all others must 
of necessity share in its immensity. 

" Let us make no mistake. As representatives 
of the Democracy of the nation we have a duty to 
perform. Let no consideration of personal friend- 



258 STEFIIKN- GROYER CLKVELAND, 

ship or glamour of locality influence your action. 
Broad 2;round must be taken. The man of the 
nation, not the man of the State, muht be nom- 
inated. 

"Nominate Allen G. Thnrman. Nominate 
liim by accLamation. Let it not be said that one 
single Democrat in all this great Union failed in 
this testimonial to the greatest American of his 
day, the noblest breathing man upon American 
soil, fit consort in the temple of fame of those pa- 
triots of the past, the founders of our institutions, 
whose sacred dust lies calmly sleeping beneath the 
sods of Mount Yernon, Monticello and the Hep 
mitage, awaiting tlie dedication of our national 
Pantheon." 

SECONDING THURMAN's NA^fE. 

Governor Green, of New Jersey, said that the 
shores of the Atlantic re-echoed the call of the 
Pacific coast. New Jersey, which brought nine 
electoral votes in one hand, without making 
any demand — New Jersey seconded the nomina- 
tion of Allen G. Thurman. [Applause.] 

Mr. Dorsey, of Nevada, voiced the sentiments 
of the Democracy of Nevada in indorsing the 
ticket of Cleveland and Thurman. The mountains 
of Nevada would fairly rattle with joy when the 
news of Thurman's nomination was Hashed across 
the wires. [Applause.] 

Mr. Raines, of New York, was greeted with 
cheers when he took the stand to make known 
the position of his State delegation. New York, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 259 

he said, had withdrawn herself until this moment. 
But the time had arrived for her voice to be 
heard in unison with the acclaim of her fellow 
delegations from Maine to the capes of the Western 
Sea, in behalf of him who was the Plato of the 
Eepublic. The battle line of the coming conflict 
extended across the continent. The forces of 
the Democracy would reach across the continent, 
and ov^er the reserve corps would wave the flag of 
Allen G. Thurman. [Applause.] 

T. E. Powell, of Ohio, followed briefly but 
earnestly. It was claimed, he said, that the 
universal cry for Thurman was but a sentiment 
of the heart. That might be so, but it was the 
grandest sentiment that ever occupied the Demo- 
cratic party. 

Mr. Dawson, of South Carolina, said that it had 
been said that President Cleveland w^as both a 
candidate and a platform, but he proposed to 
present to the Convention a name for the Vice- 
Presidency which is a history and a prophecy. 

Mr. Thompson, of Tennessee, also seconded the 
nomination of Thurman, saying that the South, 
of all other sections of this country, should hasten 
to do honor to this grand old man whose arms had 
ever been raised to defend a stricken people. 
His red bandanna had been a banner of hope to 
the despairinir; let it now be a banner of victory 
for the united Democracy of the country. 

Ex-Governor Throckmorton, of Texas, said he 



260^ STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

represented a divided delegation upon the question 
of a Vice-Presidential candidate, but he was none 
the less enthusiastic in his support of Ohio's grand 
old man. Texas would give the ticket 200,000 
majority with Allen G. Thurman as one of the 
nominees. 

Virginia having been called, Senator Daniel 
ascended the platform. The old and the 3^oung 
Democracy of the Old Dominion, he said, would 
join in the great acclaim of the American people 
when they would speak again in November next 
for Allen G. Thurman. (Applause.) He described 
the services of Thurman to the Democratic party 
and to the country; and especially commended to 
California's attention Thurman's attitude on the 
Chinese question. It was said that the grand old 
man was old. But no hair glistened on his brow 
that had not grown white in Democratic service. 
The years that had circled round his head had 
each one of them left in its track a new ring 
of glory. In the name of the people of Virginia, 
on whose soil Thurman was born ; in the name of 
Ohio, his adopted home; in the name of the 
Democracy of the great nation, incorruptible, 
un terrified, unconquerable, he gave to the banner 
and the breeze the semblance of his name. As 
Mr. Daniel concluded he waved a large bandanna, 
and was enthusiastically cheered. 

Mr. Thurman was then nominated on the first 
biillot, 97 votes being cast for Gov, (iray, of Indiana. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 261 

The " Old Roman's " nomination was then made 
unanimous. 

THE PLATFORM. 

The following is the full text of the platform 
adopted by the Democratic National Convention : 

" The Democratic party of the United States in 
National Convention assembled renews tlie pledge 
of its fidelity to Democratic f\xith, and reaffirms the 
platform adopted by its representatives in the Con- 
vention of 1884 ; and indorses the views expressed 
by President Cleveland in his last annual mes- 
sage to Congress as the correct interpretation of 
that platform upon the question of tariff reduction, 
and also indorses the efforts of our Democratic repre- 
sentatives in Congress to secure a reduction of ex- 
cessive taxation. Chief among its principles of 
party faith are the maintenance of an indissoluble 
union of free and indestructible States, now about 
to enter upon its second century of unexampled 
progress and renown, devotion to a plan of gov- 
ernment regulated by a written constitution strictly 
specifying every granted power and expressly re- 
serving to the States or people the entire ungranted 
residue of power; the encouragement of a jealous 
popular vigilance, directed to all who have been 
chosen for brief terms to enact and execute the 
laws, and are charged with the duty of preserving 
peace, ensuring equality and establishing justice. 

THE PUBLIC DEBT AND LANDS. 

"The Democratic party welcome an exacting 
scrutiny of the administration of the executive 



262 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

power, which four years ago was coniinitted to its 
trusts in the election of Grover Clevehmd Presi- 
dent of the United States, but it challenges the 
most searching inquiry concerning its fidelity and 
devotion to the pledges which then invited the 
suffrage of the people. During a most critical period 
of our financial affairs, resulting from overtaxation, 
the anomalous condition of our currency and pub- 
lic debt unmatured. It has, by tlie adoption of a 
wise and conservative course, not only avoided i\ 
disaster, but greatly promoted the prosperity of 
the people. 

"It has reversed the improvident and unwise 
policy of tlie Republican party touching the public 
domain, and has reclaimed from corporations and 
svndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the 
people nearly one hundred million acres of valua- 
ble land to be sacredly held as homesteads for our 
citizens. 

PENSIONS AND SUFFRAGE. 

" While carefully guarding the interests of the 
tax-payers and conforming strictly to the principles 
of justice and equity, it has paid out more for pen- 
sions and bounties to the soldiers and sailors of the 
republic than was ever paid before during an equal 
period. It has adopted and consistently pursued 
a firm and prudent foreign policy, preserving 
peace with all nations, while scrupulously main- 
taining all the rights and interests of our own 
government and people at home and abroad. The 
exclusion from our shores of Chinese laborers has 
been effectually secured under the provision of a 
treaty, the operation of which has been postponed 
by the action of a Republican majority in the 
Senatf*. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 263 

" Honest reform in the civil service has been in- 
augurated and maintained by President Cleveland, 
and he has brought the public service to the high- 
est standard of eliiciencj, not only by rule and 
precept, but by the example of his own untiring 
and unselfish administration of pubUc affairs. 

*' In every department and branch of tlie gov- 
ernment under Democratic control the rights and 
the welfare of all the people liave been guarded 
and defended; every public interest has been pro- 
tected, and the equality of all our citizens before 
the law, without regard to race or color, has been 
steadfastly maintained. Upon its record thus ex- 
hibited and upon the pledge of a continuance to the 
people of these benefits the Democracy invokes 
u renewal of popular trust by the re-election of a 
Chief Magistrate who has been faithful, able and 
prudent. We invoke an addition to that trust by 
tlip transfer also to the Democracy of the entire 
legislative power. 

NEEDLESS TAXATION. 

"The Republican party, controlling the Senate 
and resistini!" in both houses of Couirress a reforma- 
tion of unjust and unequal tax laws, which have 
outlasted the necessities of war and are now un- 
dermining the abundance of a long peace, deny to 
the people equality before the law and the fairness 
and the justice which are their right. Then the 
cry of American labor for a better share in the 
rewards of industry is stifled with false pretences, 
enterprise is fettered and bound down to home 
markets, capital is discouraged with doubt, and un- 
equal and unjust laws can neither be promptly 
amended nor repealed 



264 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 



" The Democratic party will continue with all 
the power confided to it the struggle to reform 
these laws in accordance with the pledges of its 
last platform, indorsed at tlie ballot-box by the 
suffrages of the people. Of all the illustrious 
freemen of our land the immense majority, in- 
cluding every tiller of the soil, gain no advantage 
from excessive tax laws, but the price of nearly 
everything they buy is increased by the favoritism 
of an unequal system of tax legislation. All un- 
necessary taxation is unjust taxation. 

TRUSTS AND CORPORATIONS. 

" It is repugnant to the creed of Democracy 
that by such taxation the cost of the necessaries 
of life should be unjustifiably increased to all our 
people. 

"Judged by Democratic principles, the interests 
of the people are betrayed when, by unnecessary 
taxation, trusts and combinations are permitted to 
exist, which, while unduly enriching the few that 
combine, rob the bod}' of our citizens, by depriving 
them of the benefits of natural competition. Every 
Democratic rule of governmental action is 
violated when, through unnecessary taxation, a 
vast sum of money, far beyond the needs of an 
economical administration, is drawn from the 
people and the channels of trade and accumu- 
lated as a demoralizing surplus in the National 
1 reasury. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

ALLEN" G. THURMAN". 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MR. THURMAN's career. 

Birth and Early Life — Removal to Ohio — Academic Ed- 
ucation — Habits of Industry — " Right-angled-triangled 
Thurman" — Admitted to the Bar — Private Secretary 
to G-overnor Lucas — Partner in William Allen's Law 
J'iRM — Elected to Congress — Member of the Judiciary 
Committee — Chief Justice of Ohio — Defeated for Gov- 
ernor — Sent to United States Senate — Prominent in 
Congress — Fidelity to Public Duties— Retirement to 
Private Life — Individual Characteristics — The Kind 
op Democrat Thurman is — The "Red Bandanna" — 
Snuff and Handkerchiefs. 

Allen G. Thurman was born in Lynchburg, 
Va., Noveirj^ber 13, 1813. He came of good stock. 
His grandfather was a Baptist clergyman, who 
owned by inheritance and otherwise a considerable 
number of slaves, but who early in life became 
imbued with such just notions in regard to per- 
sonal liberty and the general question of slavery 
that he determined to embrace the first favorable 
opportunity of setting his human chattels free. 

(265) 



266 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Cherishing such notions in regard to one of the 
estahlished institutions of the country and the 
people among whom he lived, he soon found that 
the atmosphere of '' the old Dominion" was any- 
tliing but a congenial one. Fully realizing this, 
he at last made up his nn"nd to emigrate to Ohio. 

Wlien young Allen Granberry Thurman was six 
years of age the family removed to the thriving 
little city of Chillicothe, in Ohio. Arriving there, 
his father, who had been intended for a preacher, 
secured employment in teaching school, and upon 
the institution in which he was so occupied the 
boy became a regular attendant. Later on, his 
father in the meantime having engaged in the 
business of wool manufacture — then a prominent 
one in the locality — Allen went to attend the 
Chillicothe High Scliool, and during the year 1825 
entered the old Chillicothe Academy, which, at 
that time, boasted of a standard equal to that of 
many modern colleges. 

During this period of his life young Allen ac- 
quired those habits of industry and close study 
which have ever since been characteristic of him. 
His mother, a half-sister of the man who after- 
wards became the great Governor Allen, was, in 
many respects, a remarkable woman. Following 
her example and her monitions, and with her con- 
sent, the boy, even then hardly in his teens, was 
accustomed to sit up until late at night studying 
or reciting his lessons to her. He advanced rap- 
idly at school and soon became so absorbed and 
proficient in mathematics that his schoolmates 
gav(i him the familiar name of " E,ight-angled- 
triangled " Thurman. 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 267 

ADMITTED TO THE BAR. 

Many of his friends advised him to go into the 
land-agency business, by pursuing which it was 
undoubted that he would have made a consider- 
able fortune. His mother, however, and his uncle, 
William Allen, who had begun to make his mark 
in the State, insisted that he should take up the 
study of law, and he at last yielded to their 
wishes. As a result of this arrangement he en- 
tered the law office of his uncle and remained 
with him three years. At the end of that time, 
when he was twenty-one years old, and the famous 
Governor Lucas was chief magistrate of Ohio, that 
gentleman wrote to him from Columbus, asking 
young Thurman to accept the position of private- 
secretary to the governor. The opportunity to see 
more of life and get a better understanding of 
politics and the politicians of the time was too 
good a one to be lost, and with the concurrence of 
his friends he at once accepted the position and 
went to the capital. Arrived there, he immedi- 
atel}^ assumed the duties of the secretaryship, and 
at the same time entered the law office of the dis- 
tiniruished Judpre Swavne. Business at the exec- 
utive chamber was conducted in those days after 
a very different fashion from the methods of to-day. 
Governor Lucas was in his office at 8 o'clock every 
morning, and expected his secretary at the same 
hour. There they remained until 8 o'clock at 
night, during most of which time they were en- 
gaged in performing the duties which, in these 
later and more affluent days of progress, require 
the services of numerous clerks. vStill. despite the 
hard services he was in this way compelled to per- 
form, the young man found time at night to read 



268 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

law and to work out legal problems submitted to 
him from time to tiuie by Judge Swajne. Indeed, 
he seems at this period of his life to have found 
time for everything except to sleep, for four or five 
hours in bed out of the daily twenty-four were 
all that he allowed himself 

After being admitted to the bar young Thur- 
man went at once to Chillicothe, and, being most 
fortunate in his connections, was not obliged to 
undergo the hardship of hoping against hope for 
his first client; on the contrary, he was immedi- 
ately admitted into a partnership with his uncle, 
William Allen, who in the meantime had made 
himself a prominent figure not only in State but 
national affairs. By this association he found him- 
self without delay in possession of one of the best 
practices in Ohio. 

ELECTED TO CONGRESS. 

Shortly after he had entered upon his profession 
his uncle and partner, William Allen, became so 
entirely absorbed in politics that he abandoned his 
profession entirely and left the work of the office 
to be done by Thurman. The youni]: man who 
was thus suddenly called on to assume great re- 
sponsibility acquitted himself remarkably, win- 
ning the warmest approbation from distinguished 
men in his own profession and out of it. His cir- 
cuit embraced four counties, and it is noteworthy 
that during ten years in no one of them did he 
ever miss a term of court; and, during all that 
time, it is still further remarkable that lie did not 
ride 100 miles on wheels. All his journeys, like 
those of his fellow-practitioners, were made on 
horseback over the dirt roads, Avhich were then the 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 269 

only means of travel in that portion of the coun- 
try. 

Among those who practir>ed with Tburman at 
that time were William Creighton, Judge Scott, 
Benjamin F. Leonard (who afterwards died in an 
insane asylum), Henry Stanberry, and others, who 
were then or afterwards became well known 
throughout the nation. Of this great bar Thur- 
man was the youngest member; yet it is no exag- 
geration to say that he held his own with the best 
of his associates. To do this, however, he was 
obliged to work indefatigably, and it is a fact that 
during all this period of his life he never slept 
more than six hours a day, all the remaining 
hours of the twenty-four being devoted to office 
work, court practice, or home study. Becoming 
thus early prominent at the bar, it was only nat- 
ural that lie should be regarded as a fit subject for 
political honors. From his early boyhood he had 
taken interest in public affairs, and by inclination 
and association was from the outset an earnest and 
outspoken Democrat. Later on he always did his 
full political duty and took a prominent pnrt in the 
canvasses cf his county, but always in favor of 
persons other than himself Two or three times 
he was solicited to be a candidate for the legisla- 
ture, and each time refused, as he did also a prop- 
osition which was made to him to accept a nomi- 
nation for a judicial position. He declared, very 
wisely, that he could not afford to run for office, 
and that he believed no poor man should accept 
honors which he had not the means adequately to 
{Support. 

Holding these view^s, he continued to practice 
his profession with almost unvarying success be- 



270 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

fore the courts, but with only moderate success 
financially. In 1844, while he was in Kentucky 
on legal business, the Democratic Convention of 
the Congressional district in which he lived, with- 
out his knowledge and entirely without his solici- 
tation, nominated him for Congress. Returning to 
Chillicothe, and learning for the first time what 
had been done, he was, for very much the reasons 
already explained, on the point of declining to 
serve. From this intention he was dissuaded, and, 
liaving accepted the nomination, he entered, with 
all the energy that was characteristic of him, into 
the contest. He made a close canvass of the 
whole district, spoke everywhere, often taking 
part in joint discussions against his Whig opponent, 
John J. Van Meter, and vet, stranire to sav, never 
exchanged one unkind or disrespectful w^ord with 
him or any other opponent. 

The result of his canvass was his triumphant 
election. Of his services during the term of Con- 
gress which followed it is, perhaps, only necessary 
to say that he at once took high rank on the 
Judiciary Committee, and made speeches still re- 
membered as able upon the Oregon question and 
the Mexican war. 

CHIEF-JUSTICE AND SENATOR. 

This work he continued until he was elected — 
of course on the Democratic ticket — to the Su- 
preme Court of Ohio. He remained for four 
years on the bench, for the last two years of his 
term being the Chief-Justice. During this time 
he rendered many opinions which are now always 
cited as authority nnd()ul,»ted and not to be ques- 
tioned. Among these may be mentioned, as 



ALLEN G. TIIURMAN. 271 

familiar to all lawyers, his famous opinion in the 
cases of Cross against Dillon and Bloom against 
Richard. 

Sdll, and despite his great success as a Judge, 
he declined a re-election, his reason heing that the 
salary was too small to support him, and because, 
while holding official position, he never allowed 
himself to increase his income by any practice or 
enterprise of a private character. Going back to 
the law, after his four years on the bench, he 
found his reputation to have increased so rapidly 
that his practice was almost greater than he could 
attend to. Fortunately, his receipts were in keep- 
ing with the extent of his business, and in time he 
amassed a competence. Encouraged by these re- 
sults, he continued with the utmost industry to 
practice his profession until 1867, when, almost 
without a struggle worthy of the name, he re- 
ceived the unanimous nomination of the Demo- 
cratic Convention to be Governor of Ohio. Ex- 
President Hayes was his opponent, and for sixty- 
five successive days, in one of the most exciting 
and closely contested campaigns the State had ever 
known, they appeared upon the stump. Thurman 
was defeated, but he had the satisfaction of know^- 
ing that he cut dow^n the Republican majority 
from 43,000, which it had been the year before, to 
less than 3,000. 

RECORD ON THE WAR ISSUE. 

During the campaign it was frequentl}' asserted, 
and perhaps in some quarters believed, that he 
had been opposed to the war of the Union. In 
regard to that matter, it need only be said that 
until the war was actually declared Mr. Thurman 



272 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

was strongly opposed to it, and used every influ- 
ence he had to prevent it. After hostilities had 
actually commenced, however, he was quite as 
earnest in urging that those who were opposed to 
the National Government should be defeated and 
put down as speedily as possible. His argument 
was simply that if the South had the right to 
leave the Union, then the Union was at war with 
a foreign power, while, on the other hand, if the 
South had no right of secession, then the war was 
an insurrection. In either case he held that all 
the means at the command of the Federal Gov- 
ernment should be employed to put an end to it. 
At the same time, however, to use exactly his 
own words, without attempting to tell exactly what 
they signify, he did not believe that it was neces- 
sary to violate the Constitution in order to pre- 
serve the Union. 

Though defeated for the Governorship, as stated, 
the election was not without results aorreeable to 
Mr. Thurman. Though Mr. Hayes was success- 
ful, the Legislature elected wath him w\as Demo- 
cratic, and that Legislature lost no time in making 
Thurman a United States Senator, to take the 
place which had been occupied by that Republican 
of Republicans, sturdy '^ Ben " Wade. When he 
took his seat there were only seven Democrats in 
the upper house. They were Messrs. Garrett 
Davis, McCreary, of Kentucky; CasserK', Vickers, 
of Maryland; Bayard, Stockton, of New Jersey; 
and Thurman. The latter soon took high position 
among his colleagues, and as early as 1869 made 
a speech on the so-called Georgia bill, which at- 
tracted general attention and was justly regarded 
as the oflicial announcement that the Democratic 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 27 



o 



party of the South, for the first time since before 
the war, was to fall into line with the organization 
in other parts of the reunited nation. His speech 
on the Geneva Award bill, and also on the Pacific 
Railway Funding bill, attracted much notice and 
applause. It is only justice to state that by the 
passage of his bill in regard to the railroads in 
question the Government was saved a very Large 
sum of money. But not only this ; by the 
passage of that bill there was for all time estab- 
lished that wholesome precedent which teaches 
that the Government is the master of corporations 
of its own creating. If he never performed any 
service but this, Senator Thurman would still be 
entitled to the unstinted praise of his countrymen. 
But he performed many other services. He set 
an example of hard work in official life which 
many more pretentious men might follow with ad- 
vantage both to themselves and their constituents. 
It can with truth be said of him that he never on 
any account neglected his public duties. 

LIFE IN RETIREMENT. 

Mr. Thurman served a double term in the 
Senate, and then retired to private live, practising 
his profession as successfully as before. He was 
especially prominent in the Bell patent contest, 
being therein, as always, a stern foe of monopo- 
lies. He was again nominated by the Democratic 
caucus of the Ohio Lesfislature for Senator in 1886, 
but was defeated. In 1884 his name was brought 
forward for the Presidential nomination, but with 
small avail, as the ballotings given elsewhere 
for the office of President show. The ex-Senator 
was in November, 1887, tendered a place on the 



274 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Interstate Commerce Commission, but declined it, 
saying he was too old and feeble, and had made a 
resolve never to be again tempted to take office. 
A short time before tliis he had expressed similar 
sentiments in an address to the "Thurman Club" 
of Cincinnati, which had tendered him a serenade. 
This little speech may as a curiosity be reproduced 
here. Mr. Thurman said : 

^' My Young Friends: When I was a boy at 
school many years ago, one of the text-books I 
studied was a Latin one, Cicero on Old Age, and I 
remember well when I read that beautiful treatise 
in which the author sets forth in the most beauti- 
ful and impressive manner that consummation in 
old age which would in some degree be a compen- 
sation for the trials of youth, I wondered if that 
lot would ever be mine. Now, when I look down 
upon your heads and see your bright faces and 
know who you are and what you are, I feel some- 
thing of regret tluit the old author never had a 
Ciceronian Club to honor and console him in his 
old age, as you have mine. I thank you, first, for 
the honor you have done an old man in taking his 
name for your club; and, second, for the kindness 
you have manifested towards me by your attend- 
ance to-night and your beautiful serenade. My 
friends, no one can say you are worshipping a ris- 
ing sun. No; it is a setting sun, low down in the 
horizon, and fast disappearing forever. I shall 
never hold another office, nor shall I ever be a 
candidate for office; hence it will not be in my 
power to reward my friends or to punish my foes. 
You come without hope or fear in that respect, 
merely to honor an old fellow who from boyhood 
has been a Democrat, and who until his dying day 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 275 

will be a Democrat, and who is pleased not to be 
forgotten while he still lives. It is my pride and 
boast that I have always been a strong and stead- 
fast adherent of the principles of Democracy, and 
when my dying day comes, as soon it must, and 
my eyes are turned to behold the sun in the 
heavens for the last time, it will be the eyes of a 
Democrat that will look upon that orb. And 
when I am under the sod, and some one stumbles 
over my grave, there will he find the epitaph : 
' Here lies a man who was an honest Democrat his 
whole life long.' " 



INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

Of his private life and his relations with his as- 
sociates in the Senate it is only necessary to say 
that during twelve years of service Mr. Thurman 
never had an angry word with any of them, and 
that he went as he came, a comparatively poor 
man. He went regretted by all who knew him in 
Washington — regretted particularly by many 
prominent Republicans who knew him best and 
who rejoiced most heartily at President Garfield's 
graceful and unsolicited action in appointing him 
to the International Monetary Conference. His 
rugged face, blunt speech and earnest manner will 
long be missed in the Senate chamber. He is a 
bitter partisan, and he may have gone astray on 
the money question, but even his bitterest enemy 
cannot deny that he was always an honest public 
servant, that he worked faithfully in what he be- 
lieved to be the right direction, and that he has 
done very much to elevate the tone of political 
discussion in the United States. 



276 life and public services of 

thurman's democracy. 

Thurman's Democracy has always been of the 
staunchest and most loyal kind. Coming into 
public life in 1836, he was an advocate of the 
Jackisonian doctrine of ''hard money" as against 
the so-called " soft " or " shin-plaster " bank money 
advocated by the Whigs of tiiat time. He was 
originally opposed to the law making " green- 
backs " a legal tender. Later, while in the Senate, 
he opposed the law for the resumption of specie 
payments; but did not indorse the Ohio Demo- 
cratic platform denouncing the contraction of the 
currency and postponing resumption indefinitely. 
He favored the bi-metallic standard of gold and sil- 
ver, and helped to make the popular phrase, " the 
dollar of the daddies." It was out of compliment to 
his firm conservative adherence to hard-money 
principles that he was appointed on the Inter- 
national Metallic Conference by President Gar- 
field. 

Although Thurman has spent his life in politics, 
he has never voluntarily^ sought office. He firmly 
believes that the office should seek the man, and 
not tlie man the office. In manners Thurman is 
by nature the perfect gentleman of the old school, 
and by taste and education more of a scholar than 
a politician. He is well versed in mathematics 
and the classics, and a fluent reader and speaker 
of French and other modern languages. Although 
to-day perhaps one of the most conspicuous figures 
in national politics, he is at the same time one of 
the most modest and unassuming men in the 
country. 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 277 

ROMANCE OF THE "RED BANDANNA." 

The Thurman bandanna, the handkerchief which 
is likely to figure extensively in the coming cam- 
paign, has its own romance. In 1824, when Thur- 
man- was eleven years old, there arrived in Chilli- 
cothe an erratic, but accomplished French emi- 
grant, Emil Gregorie, who subsequently became 
known as the '"Professor." He had been intended 
for the Catholic priesthood, but while in his studies 
for holy orders he fell desperately in love with a 
young girl below him in social standing. Against 
the entreaties of his friends, he abandoned all 
thoughts of the priesthood, and finally married the 
girl. He had means, and under the advice of 
American agents in Paris, he concluded to invest 
in West Virginia lands. Like the ill-fated Blen- 
nerhassett, who bought an island in the Ohio 
river, he thought to establish an Oriental paradise 
in the West. His young wife gave birth to a 
daughter and died. 

Taking the child, the grief- stricken father named 
it Virgin ie, and came with it to found a home in 
the New World. When he found his lands were 
an unbroken wilderness his disappointment knew 
no bounds. He wandered about the savage border- 
lands of the West until he reached Chillicothe, 
where he found employment as a teacher of French. 
Mrs. Thurman, Allen's mother, heard of him and 
his ability, and took care of the child in exchange 
for French lessons for her son. The grateful 
Parisian gave young Thurman most assiduous 
attention, but among other accomplishments taught 
him the habit of taking snuif, and the French use 
of " the handkerchief." At first Thurman could 
speak no French and Virginie no English. But 



278 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 



tbey soon acquired a vocabulary of common 
phrases, and became constant companions and 
steadfast friends. Thurman's first grief came when 
M. Gregorie received a favorable offer to go to 
Louisiana, then a province of Spain. Much to the 
resrret of botli the young people, he accepted the 
invitation, and left Cliillicothe for *^ the Spanish 
territory." For a while Thurman was disconsolate, 
and even gave up "snuff." But on coming to 
Congress afterwards he found the habit prevailing, 
with " snuff" on the Congressional free list, and so 
he fell into the habit again. Formerly a flourish 
of the bandanna in Cliillicothe was equivalent to 
saying, ''Come into court." In the present cam- 
paign it will undoubtedly mean, "Sound the 
Slogan ! " 




CHAPTER XV. 

MR. THURMAN's nomination RECEIVED WITH EN- 
THUSIASM. 

Excitement in the House of Representatives at Wash- 
ington—What THE "New York Times" Said— The "San 
Francisco Examiner" on the Nomination — Washington 
Correspondents at Columbus — Judge Thurman's Speech 
— ^Thurman Club of Columbus Endorse the Nominee — 
Another Speech by Thurman — Estimate of the Candi- 
date BY Roswell p. Flower — What Governor Gray 
has to say. 

The announcement of Thurman's nomination 
was read in the House with uproarious enthusiasm. 
As if by preconcerted arrangement, bandannas 
were waved by the whole Democratic side amid 
the loud hurrahs and clapping of hands, in which 
the Republicans also joined. Biggs, of California, 
waved his hands frantically through the air and 
cried out something about Oregon being redeemed 
next November, but it was impossible to dis- 
tinguish his words in the uproar. Outhwaite, cf 
Ohio, appeared at the clerk's desk with a large 
picture of the '' Old Roman." He draped it with 
a red silk handkerchief and the House broke oat 
once more in great applause. Bandannas were 

(279) 



280 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

waved vigorously from the galleries, and it was a 
long while before order was restored. 

Referring to the St. Louis Convention, the Nev/ 
York Times said 

" The Democratic part}' has put two able and 
trusted men before the country as its candidates, 
we may fairly say its two ablest and most trusted, 
and it enters upon the contest for the Presidency 
upon a platform unusually sound, temperate and 
manly. Beyond question, Mr. Thurman's name 
brings greater strength to the ticket than the 
name of any other man the Deuiocratic party 
could have nominated for Vice-President. He is 
in the best sense of the word a distinguished man. 
His positive achievements in public life are suffi- 
ciently numerous and noteworthy to entitle him to 
a place among the statesmen of the country. His 
character is beyond repronch and his public record 
well nigh unassailable. It is an inspiring candi- 
dacy far beyond the wont of nominations for the 
Vice-Presidency, for Mr. Thurman commands the 
respect and veneration of his party, while Repub- 
licans in high places have many times laid aside 
the customary narrowness of the partisan to speak 
of him in terms of praise. It can no longer be 
said of Mr. Cleveland that he is untried in national 
affairs or that he shows or has shown any weak- 
ness or tendency to error due to a lack of ex- 
perience, but Mr. Thurman has in full measure 
what Mr. Cleveland lacked four years ago ; and 
since to experience he joins dignity and puts some 
value upon the esteem and respect of the people 
of the country, his accession, should he be elected, 
to the chair of the presiding officer of the Senate 



ALLEN G. THUKMAN. 281 

will be a welcome relief from the possible continu- 
ance therein of its present unworthy occupant." 

The Examiner, of San Francisco, said : 

" The nomination of Thurman has proved, even 
more strikingly than that of Cleveland, that when 
the people of this country have made up their 
minds to a thing they will have, their politicians 
may as well stand aside. Thurman means vic- 
tory. He is the incarnation of the spirit new and 
yet old, which breathes through a fearless platform 
and recalls the great days of Democracy before de- 
feat had taught it to apologize for its principles. 
The Pacific coast has nominated Thurman; it is 
its duty and will be its pleasure to elect him. Our 
delegation votes California to him, and relying 
upon that pledge the convention disregarded the 
warnings of men who offered to insure the fifteen 
votes of Indiana in exchange for the nomination 
of another candidate. We can redeem those 
pledges, and we will." 

The Washington correspondents who attended 
the St. Louis Convention stopped at Columbus 
upon the invitation of Mr. Holden, of the Cleve- 
land Plain Dealer, and were entertained by that 
gentleman at the Neil House. The correspondents 
were met at the railroad station by the Thurman 
and Jackson Clubs and, preceded by a band of 
music, escorted to the residence of Judge Thur- 
man. One correspondent writes as follows : 

Judge Thurman lives in a modest house on 



282 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERYICES OF 

Washington avenue, bis son occupying the house 
adjoining. The Judge's residence is undergoing 
repairs, and the visitors were invited by Mr. Thur- 
man, Jr., to his house, where the Judge soon made 
his appearance. From reports current at St. Louis 
I expected to find Judge Thurman considerably 
broken up physically. I was, therefore, surprised 
to see very little change in his appearance since 
I last saw him in Washington, about a year ago. 
He walked across the lawn from his own house to 
that of his son in a shuffling gait, that indicated 
the presence of rheumatism, but in his general ap- 
pearance and manner in repose, and when speak- 
ing, he seems as vigorous as when a member of the 
United States Senate. His countenance is a shade 
paler and his beard and hair have whitened some- 
what since he left the Senate, but his eye is as 
bright, his voice as strong, his mind as alert, his 
intellect as vigorous as when leading his party in 
debate in the Senate chamber. So far as can be 
observed from his bearing and conversation, there 
are no outward evidences other than those which 
attend the presence of rheumatism in the limbs — 
and these are only apparent when he walks — of 
physical weakness or diminution of mental force. 
His speech to the correspondents was in his hap- 
piest vein. 

The allusion to his robust health and the request 
that the correspondents should write for him such 
a speech as the}^ thought he should make upon an 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 283 

occasion of this kind, were much enjoyed. Those 
of us who have known Judge Thurinan left him 
with no apprehension that if elected Vice-Presi- 
dent he would fail in duties as presiding officer of 
the Senate. The old gentleman came out on the 
porch, and as we were driven from his house waved 
a farewell with his bandanna. The correspondents 
having been supplied at St. Louis with the Thur- 
man standard were enabled to return the saluta- 
tion by waving the same emblem. 

JUDGE THURMAN's SPEECH. 

After three cheers for Cleveland and Thurman 
and the red bandanna, Judge Thurman spoke as 
follows : 

" The only time I ever had any lengthy talk 
with Henry Ward Beecher he said : ' Well, you 
are a pretty good-looking man for a Democrat.' I 
must say you are a pretty good-looking set of men 
considering you are newspaper men. I must con- 
fess I see no indications of horns or weapons of 
any kind. Now, if you want to do me a favor, 
write a speech for me and attribute it to me. How- 
ever, be careful to put in the applause frequently. 

" I understand that many good people say, and 
no doubt think — I dc not deny the justice of their 
thoughts — that I am too old [laughter] to run for 
Vice-President. [Renewed laughter and a voice, 
' We'll see about that.'] Those people who say so, 
and who doubtless think so, do not understand the 
effect upon an old Democrat of such kindness as I 
received at your hands and at the hands of the 



284 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

rest of the Democracv of the United States. 
[Cheers.] Why, I feel about ten years younger 
at the least calculation. [Laughter and renewed 
cheering; a voice, 'I can say twenty.'] Well, I 
think it will be twenty before twenty days. [Re- 
newed laughter.] 

*' Last night 1 stood here to speak to my fellow- 
citizens who came out to greet me, and upon my 
word, expecting to speak about five minutes, I find 
I spoke twenty minutes in full voice and with im- 
mense fervor and vigor. [Continued laughter and 
applause.] And I should not be surprised if I 
should make such a fool of myself between now 
and the second Tuesday, or i\\^ first Tuesday, or 
whatever Tuesday it is, in October [laughter and 
voices, 'November'] — November, I mean — that I 
should be prancing around making speeches like a 
young man just out of teens. [Renewed laughter 
and applause.] 

" But now, gentlemen, let me be serious a little. 
You know, gentlemen of the Ohio delegation, that 
when you were kind enough to call on me before 
you went to St. Louis I told you, and God knows 
it was the honest truth, that I did not want the 
nomination ; that what I wanted was peace and 
quiet, but that it w^as impossible for me to say that 
I would not refuse a nomination, for that would 
make me a candidate at once, and, therefore, sur- 
rounded with these difliculties I could conceive of 
no other w^ay, no other solution than to place 
myself in your hands, and I did so freely, honestly, 
fairly, loyally, trusting that you would take care of 
my honor as well as the interests of the Demo- 
cratic party. [Cheers.] Now, gentlemen, I do 
not undertake to speak for the party and say 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 285 

whether you have done wisely or not, but I do 
speak for myself and say that you have done fairly 
and honorably and uprightly by me, and that as 
huis: as I live I shall alwavs bear towards you a 
plateful heart and a pleasant recollection. [Ap- 
plause.] 

" Gentlemen, I thank you for your efforts ; I 
tliank you for what you have done, and^yhether I 
shall be successful or not successful, there is one 
thing of which I cannot be deprived, and that is 
the gratification of knowing that I have the good 
will of the people of my State, and not only of 
the people of Ohio but of the people, I think, of 
the United States. [Continuous applause.] Now, 
gentlemen, I do not think I ought to say anything 
more for fear, as my friend Lowenstein would say, 
that I would paralyze you. [Great laughter.] 

"I do not want to do that. I hope that every 
man of you, since 30U have put me on the ticket, 
will go to work and work for the ticket. But I have 
another word to say before I stop, and that is this : 
There scarcely ever happened in the history of 
tliis world a sublimer spectacle than the renom- 
ination of Grover Cleveland by the unanimous 
voice of the Convention [great applause,] and now 
I say you did a wise thing in that — a patriotic 
thing in that. The people of the United States 
love a brave man, and Cleveland is a brave man ; 
they love an honest man, and God knows he is 
an honest man ; they love a man of good sound 
judgment, and I do not know any man of sounder 
judgment than his; they love a man who stands 
up for the people, who stands up for principle, 
and does not fear to take the consequence, and 
such a man is Grover Cleveland. Gentlemen, it 



286 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

will be an honor to every man of that St. Louis 
Coiiventiou as long as he lives that he was tliere 
to cast liis vote for this worthy President of the 
United States. Now I thank you and will bid 
you good-night." [Great applause.] 

DEMONSTRATION AT COLUMBUS. 

The Thurman Club got up a demonstration in 
honor of the nomination of Judge Thurman. 
Captain Hoffman, of the Samuel J. Randall Club, 
was introduced to Mr. Thurman by President 
John J. Lenty, of the Thurman Club, and intro- 
duced each member of the Philadelphia club in 
turn to Mr. Thurman. 

Judge Thurman then spoice as follows 

" My friends and fellow-citizens : I sincerely 
thank you for this manifestation of your good 
will and esteem. It has been well said, ' lind how 
a man is thought of b}' his neighbors, and you can 
form a correct judgment of tliat man's character 
and worth.' If I may judge from this demon- 
stration, as well as from all the acts of kindness 
til at I have received from the goodly people of 
Columbus for more than a third of a century, I 
may indulge in the hope that I stand well in the 
affections of my neighbors. [Great cheering.] 
And when in addition to that I have every reason 
to believe, from the attendance here to-night of 
that splendid body of men, the Randall Club of 
Philadelphia [cheers], that I stand Avell in that 
grand old State which used to be called the Key- 
stone of the Democratic arch [renewed cheering], 



ALI£N G. THURMAN. 287 

and which I hope will ere long become that key- 
stone again, then I have more than ever reason 
to congratulate myself and believe that I stand 
well with my fellow-men. 

" My friends, I should be the most insensible 
and cold-blooded man in the world if I did not 
feel grateful for the kindness you have manifested 
toward me to-night; yes, and I may say that you 
have manifested toward me before to-night, and yet I 
do not know about that quite. I say kindness — was 
it kindness? I was living in my own quiet home, 
with my good ( Id wife and my children and grand- 
children and friends around me, wishing for noth- 
ing in this world but peace and quiet, when you 
and others like you force me once more into the 
political arena. Whether that was kind or not 
time will tell ; whether it was well devised or not 
time will disclose ; but one thing I need not wait 
for time to disclose, and that is that I owe you the 
deepest and profoundest gratitude from the very 
bottom of my heart. [Great applause.] 

" Now, my friends, you will not [coughing] — I 
got so much of that fire and brimstone down my 
throat that I can hardly talk, and that is not very 
fair, for, if what some of my enemies say of me 
be true, I will get fire and brimstone quick enough 
without getting it now. [L;uighter, and a voice, 
' A good many years yet. Judge.'] You will not 
expect me to make a political speech to-night. 
When the t\vo parties shall have been fully mar- 
shalled in the field ; when the issues, as the law- 
yers call them, shall have been distinctly declared ; 
when all the candidates have their harness on and 
are ready for the tilt, then it will be right for me 
to bear my humble part in the affray. [Cheers.] 



288 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

HE WILL BE HEARD FROM. 

^^Tlien I give you my word that I shall be 
honrd from according to my feeble abilities. I 
tliiiik there is life enough in me yet. [Apphause.] 
I think there is still in this old head some rem- 
nant of brains [laughter and applause] to enable 
me to tell the people why all my life long I have 
been a Democrat and mean to die one. [Applause.] 
And I think I shall be able to give them some 
reasons why they should be Democrats from now 
until they are laid in the grave. [Cheers.] My 
friends, it is not my purpose to say any harsh 
thing of our political opponents. That never has 
been my siy\e of speaking. Even when I was a 
very young man — I might say not a man at all, 
for the first stump speech I ever made I was noth- 
ing but a boy — even then I always endeavored to 
keep a civil tongue in my head. I always recog- 
nized the right of every man to do his own think- 
ing, and if he would only think honestly and be 
as tolerant of me as I was to him, there should be 
no harsh words fall from my lips in respect to him; 
and so now in the contests that happened in our 
own party, it never has been my habit to quarrel 
with those who did not think just as I thought. 
I have been before your convention in St. Louis 
without my will, against n^y will, as a candidate 
for a great office. [Cheering.] I was warmly, 
nobly, generously supported in that convention. 
I was also warmly and earnestly opposed. To- 
wards those who opposed me I have nothing in 
the world but feelings of kindness. It was their 
right, if they thought some other man was better — 
a better man to be nominated — if they thought it 
was more politic or advisable, however well they 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 289 

might think of me, to nominate somebody else, it 
was their right to think so. They were sent 
there to exercise their judgment, and God knows 
they have created not a single raffle in my bosom 
nor the least symptom of ill-will towards them. 
[Applause.] No, my friends, I am here to advo- 
cate the right of every free American citizen to 
think for himself. I believe in it, and always 
have believed in it, as the very essence of Democ- 
racy and of free government, and therefore I wish 
to say to you all, for it is time I was concluding 
these remarks. If I do not conclude them soon 
our friends from Pennsylvania will scarcely find 
time to reach the depot in time for the train. I 
must, therefore, bring what I have to say to a 
close, and it is thus : That so long as God gives 
me strength to speak to my fellow-men so long 
shall I talk to them the good honest Democracy in 
which I w^as schooled and in which I believe. 

Cleveland's greatness. 

" Now, my friends, I should be playing the part 
of Hamlet with Hamlet left oiF if I did not say 
another thing that I am going to say, and which 
I have reserved upon the teaching of the New 
Testament that the master of the feast brings on 
the best of his wine last. I tell you, my friends, 
that the St. Louis Convention did the thing itself 
that should immortalize it. It did one thing 
which of itself should command the esteem and re- 
spect and gratitude of the American people. It 
did one thing which set a magnificent example for 
all time to come to the American people, and in- 
deed to all other people who have anything to do 
in the choice of the rulers, and that thing was to 



290 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

renominate Grover Clevelfind bv the nnanimons 
voice of the convention. [Clieering,] 

^^ Now, my friends, when I speak of Grover 
Cleveland I do not speak of a stranger io nie. I 
never saw him until after he was inaugurated 
President of the United States, but I have seen 
liim many times since, talked with him much, con- 
sulted with him much, and, although I have not 
seen him for months past, I kuow that man, I 
think, and I think I know him well, and if there 
is a brave, honest, upright, courageous, patriotic 
man on the face of God's earth, Grover Cleveland 
is such a man. [Great apphiuse.] Why, my 
frieuds, if he is not such a man, if his administra- 
tion has not been a grand success, if the people 
have not found that he was worthy to sit in the 
chair that Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Jack- 
son occupied ; if such is not the fact, how can it 
be accounted for that he received every vote in 
the convention at St. Louis, and there was not a 
dissent from one end of the Union to the other? 
[Great applause.] Traitors to their country and 
to their party do not get such an endorsement as 
that ; men of small brains do not net such an en- 
dorsemeut as that ; men of doubtful integrity do not 
get such an endorsement as that. No; it is because 
Grover Cleveland is an upriglit and honest, a brave, 
an able mni]. that the whole Democratic party in 
the United States, from one end to the other, be it 
State or be it Territory, be it on the Atlantic 
Avave or be it where the Pacific rolls her mighty 
volume of water on our western coast; be it on 
the great lakes or be it on the gulf, every man of 
the Democratic party or every one who has the 
least claim to honcstv himself is heard to exclaim : 
'Give us Cleveland for four years more.' 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 291 

"Now, my friends, I have spoken to you longer 
than there was any necessity for me to speak and 
longer than I ouglit to have spoken, considering 
that our Pennsylvania friends have so long a 
march to make and little time to catch the train. 
I give you my heartiest thanks for the kind com- 
pliment you have paid me, and wishing you, one 
and all, happiness in all your lifj, I hid you good- 
night." 

WHAT ROSWELL P. FLOWER SAID. 

" The nomination is the strongest one that could 
possibly be made. Nothing can keep the Demo- 
cratic party from success on the present issue. 
The selection of Thurman silences every man who 
had ever the slightest grievance against the admin- 
istration and every man Avho Was dissatisfied with 
the distribution of patronage. No one had more 
reason to feel sore than Allen G. Thurman. 
Cleveland brings into the campaign his magnifi- 
cent record and an increased vote in the State of 
New York. Thuruian brings v/ith him the united 
body of Democracy. Tlie Pacific coast has every 
reason to feel grateful to him for his vote on the 
Chinese bill and will be solid lor the ticket. No 
man can be nominated on the Republican ticket 
w4io will win, if the fight is made on the present 
issue — tarifl' reform and reduction, against high 
protective taiili'." 

GOVERNOR GRAY ON THURMAN. 

Governor Gray received the news of Thurman's 
nomination with complacency. *' I have had no 
other expectation for two days than that Thurman 
would be nominated for vice-president," he said. 



292 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

"I have lonGf thouiz;ht that the man whom the 
New York delegation supported would be the 
nominee. I think I should have had no trouble 
had it not been for Tiiurinan's candidacy." 

"What will be Thurman's strength in Indiana?" 
" I think he will carry the full strength of the 
party in this State. He is a grand man." 

A neighbor's est LM ate of THURxMAN. 

" When I was leaving for Europe a few years 
ago," said a wealthy banker and Republican of 
Columbus, to a World correspondent, " I handed 
Judge Thurman a blank power of attorney, and 
said : -If I should meet with any accident I want 
you to have the settling up of my estate.' There 
is no other man living, Democrat or Republican, 
whom I would trust to that extent, but I knew that 
in Judge Thurman's hands my property would be 
perfectly safe. I am a Republican, and expect to 
vote against Judge Thurman, but no human being 
can successfully assail his honor or his integrity." 

The above is a fiiir sample of the opinion enter- 
tained by Judge Thurman's neighbors regarding 
him personally. Judge Thurman's books are 
much scattered. Part of them are piled up in 
boxes in his old house, and but few of them, com- 
paratively, have been taken to his new home. He 
says he could not begin to tell how many he has. 
He has always been careless about preserving his 
speeches or papers of any kind. 

" I suppose," he said, " that I have made as many 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 293 

speeches as any man of my age in the country, 
but I don't believe I have one of them to-day in 
my possession. You might find a few by looking 
over my books and papers, but not many. I have 
never made it a habit to keep them. I remember 
when I was a boy of ten that I invested in a 
scrap-book, and my mother, who had more to do 
with my education than any one else, said to me : 
^ Allen, I don't think you will need that; you will 
find after a little that you will be depending on your 
scrap-book altogether and your memory will suffer. 
Scrap-books are easily lost, but when you have a 
thing once fastened in your mind no one can get 
it away from you.' So I gave up the scrap-book, 
and I believe her advice was very sound. Some 
use a scrap-book to put down statistics and such 
things, but I don't believe the average man obtains 
any benefit from them whatever, but rather the 
reverse. I know I strengthened my memory 

A REMARKABLE MEMORY. 

" When I first began to practise law I used to 
make notes of the testimony. I had a system of 
shorthand and could write as fast as witnesses 
could talk. But I found that I did not often use 
the notes afterwards and gave up making them. 
I have gone into cases lasting a week or longer, 
when fifty or more witnesses would be examined, 
but I never had any difficulty in remembering 
what each one had said. I would take down the 



294 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

names of the witnesses and a few things like that, 
but my notes on a very lengthy case would not 
more than cover two pages of foolscap." 

Judge Thurman's public career up to the time 
lie left the Senate in 1871 is a part of our political 
history. Since he left the Senate he has been de- 
voting himself chiefly, as he expresses it, to mind- 
ing his own business. However, his retirement 
has been invaded on one or two occasions before 
now. President Garfield appointed him one of 
the Commissioners on the part of the United 
States to attend the monetary conference in Paris 
in 1881. This afforded the Judge an opportunity 
to visit Europe, which he had long desired to do, 
and he broke the resolution made upon leaving the 
Senate never again to become a candidate for 
or to accept any public office. In 1884 he was 
elected one of the delegates-at-large from this State 
to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago, 
and two years ago President Cleveland appointed 
him one of the special counsel for the Government 
in the Bell Telephone suit. Judge Thurnnin's at- 
titude has been that of a man not seeking office, 
but wdien called upon he has been ready to sacrifice 
his personal inclinations for the benefit of his 
party and country. 

HIS DETESTATION OF LOBBYISTS. 

" T have been in Washington," he said, "a num- 
ber of times since I left the Senate, buL never 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 295 

except upon business, and I have made it a point 
to leave the moment my business was finished. 
No, I don't dislike Washington. It is one of the 
most delightful places to live in that I know of. 
But I had seen so much of public men hanging 
around Washington and becoming lobbyists after 
they had been relieved of representing their con- 
stituents in either house that I made up my mind 
1 should never remain there an hour longer than 
was absolutely necessary when I left the Senate, 
and I never have. The spectacle of ex-Senators 
and ex-members hansfins; around Washin2;ton 
acting as lobbyists, is to me disgusting and re- 
pugnant to my ideas of what is right and proper. 
1 do not see how any man can retain his self- 
respect and do it." 

The devotion that exists between the Judge and 
his wife is touching, notwithstanding they have 
Jiad their golden wedding. They seldom use a 
carriage, as Mrs. Thurman dislikes them. They 
may be seen almost any pleasant day riding around 
town in the street cars, making a picture for an 
artist. The Judge's strong rugged features and 
snow-white hair and whiskers give him an air 
of picturesque individuality which is in striking 
harmony with the refined and delicate features of 
his companion. They always address each other 
by their given names, even in the presence of 
strangers. 

" I used to try to tease the Judge's little girls," 



296 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

said an old lawyer, who had known the Thurmans 
for years, " by telling them their father had been 
scolding their mother, but it never would work. 
Young as they were they knew better. They 
would bristle up and say : ' It is not true : papa 
never spoke a cross word to mamma in his life/ 
and," the lawyer added, " I reckon that is about so. 
I have been a near neighbor of Judge Thurman 
for many years, and if there ever was a case of 
domestic bliss and harmony it exists in the case of 
the Judge and his wife. He has spent many an 
hour in my office. 

THE SECRET OF HIS GKEAT SUCCESS. 

"I attribute Judije Thurman's jrreat success in 
life," continued the lawyer, '' to one thing prin- 
cipally, which is to go to the bottom of everything 
he undertakes. He was a surveyor when he was 
a young man and he was always much interested* 
in working out complicated cases. Soon after he 
first went to the Senate he came into my office one 
day and said : 

"*They have put me on a most insignificant 
committee, that of Mexican Land Claims, and I 
find I know nothini]^ about them.' I believe most 
of the titles and grants were in Spanish from the 
Mexican Government. lie said he should have to 
learn the Spanish language so that he could get at 
the exact meaning of the words used in the grants, 
and he did too. lie went to work at once and did 



ALLEN G. THU'R^AW. 29? 

not stop until he had mastered the Spanish lan- 
guage perfectly. Think of a man taking up the 
study of a language at his time of life simply to 
enable him to render a better judgment on a 
matter coming before his committee in Congress. 
But it was Thurman's way. He never did any- 
thing by halves. He did not have as quick a 
mind as Tom Corwin, but his dogged perseverance 
made him more than his equal." 

" Did you know anything of the charge made 
by Gov. Foraker that the Judge was disloyal dur- 
ing the war?" 

" It hasn't the slightest foundation. Mrs. Thur- 
man, you know, comes of Kentucky stock. Many 
of the prisoners confined at Camp Chase were old 
friends of her family. She was in the habit of 
taking delicacies to the sick at the Hospital at 
Camp Chase. She carried food to both the Union 
and Confederate sick alike, and many a poor fellow, 
I reckon, had occasion to bless the sight of her 
sweet face. Even Foraker can hardly find any- 
thing very treasonable in Mrs. Thurman's generous 
acts. The Judge was always a pronounced Union 
man.** 

HIS OPINION OF CONKLING AND BLAINE. 

In different conversations iheWorld correspond- 
ent has had with him he has touched upon many 
subjects. Referring to Mr. Blaine, Judge Thur- 
man said : " It is certainly curious the qualities 
that go tc make a man popular before the people. 



298 LIFE AND ILiU.lC SKRVICKS. 

Mr. Blaine is an able and brilliant man, bnt I never 
could quite understand wliat it was tbat gave him 
his hold on the public. If he had not withdrawn 
he would unquestionably have been nominated at 
Chicago." 

"His quarrel with Mr. Conkling was unfor- 
tunate ?" 

" Yes, for Mr. Blaine. If Mr. Blaine had known 
at the time he threw his brickbats at Mr. Conk- 
ling that the latter was a man who would send a 
cartload back he would probably have hesitated 
before attacking liiui. I never was so much im- 
pressed with Mr. Blaine's ability as when I read 
his book, ' Twenty Years of Congress.' The 
first volume is remarkably fair and able and quite 
philosophical. I do not agree with everything he 
says, but the work on the whole is one that will 
last. The second volume is not equal to the first 
and is not such good history. }?erhaps he was 
dealing with matters too near the present to be 
free from bias. 

" Mr. Conkling was a remarkable man," the 
Judge continued. " I knew him very well in the 
Senate, and our relations were very friendly. I 
remember, one day, I found a red bandanna on my 
desk \\\i\\ Conkling's card. lie discussed men and 
things in a way that was dazzling in its brillianc\'. 
I never enjoyed anything better. If he had been, 
trained for the stage he would have made a mag- 
nificent actor." 



CHAPTER XV. 

NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 

Committees Meet at Washington — Notable Gathering — 
Address by Congressman P. A. Collins, Chairman op 
Democratic National Convention — Letter of Notifica- 
tion — Presentation of EN(iRossED Copy of Platform- 
President Cleveland's Reply — Hesponsibility Connected 
With the Office of President — JudgeThurman Notified. 

The National Democratic Committee and the 
Notification Committee appointed by the St. Louis 
Convention met in Wasliington, June 26, and at 
two o'clock went to the White House. They were 
ushered into the East Room, and ranged themselves 
m a circle in the south end of the room. Palms 
filled all the windows and alcoves in that portion 
of the room, and potted plants decorated the 
mantels. The President was notified of their 
arrival, and descended to the East Room, accom- 
panied by Mrs. Cleveland, Rev. W. N. Cleveland 
and wife, Mrs. W. E. Hoyt, the President's sister, 
Mr. and Mrs. Lainont, Mr. W. S. Bissell, of Bufililo, 
all of whom were present at the notification of his 
first nomination ; Mr. Bayard, Mr. and Mrs. Fair- 
child, Mr. and Mrs. Wliitney, Mrs. Endicott, Mr. 
Vilas, Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson, Mr. Benjamin 
Folsom^ and Speaker Carlisle. 

(299) 



300 NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 

CHAIRMAN COLLINS' ADDRESS. 

Their a})proach was a signal for a general clap 
ping of hands on the part of the visitors, and as 
soon as the party had taken their places, Con- 
gressman P. A. Collins stepped forward and ad- 
dressed the President as follows : 

" Mr. Cleveland : We come as a committee, 
anthorized and instructed by the National Demo- 
cratic Convention, recently held at St. Louis, to 
convey formal notice of its action in naming you 
for the olhce of President of the United States 
during the next four years. It would ill become 
the occasion or } our presence to express ;it length 
the full meaninu^ and siu^nificance of that irreat 
asseml)ly. Its expression will bo found and heard 
elsewhere and otherwise from now till that day in 
November w4ien this free and intelligent people 
will record their approval of your great services as 
chief magistrate. We beg to congratulate you 
upon this hearty and unanimous indorvSement of 
your course as President by the great historic party 
to which in all the days of your manhood you have 
belonged, and to congratulate the country upon the 
assured continuance of your wise, just, and patri- 
otic administration." 

Upon concluding his remarks, Mr. Collins intro- 
duced Mr. Chailes D. Jacobs, of Kentucky, who 
read the following letter of notification : 

Washington, June 26. — To the Honorable Gro- 
ver Cleveland, of New York — Sir: The delegates 
to the National Democratic Convention, represent- 



NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 301 

ing every State and Territory of our Union, hav- 
ing assembled in the city of St. Louis on June 5th 
instant, for the purpose of nominating candidates 
for the offices of President and Vice-President, it 
has become the honorable and pleasing duty of 
this committee to formally announce to you that, 
without a ballot, you were by acclamation chosen 
as the standard-bearer of the Democratic party 
for the chief executive of this country, at the 
election to be held in November next. 

Great as is such a distinction under any circum- 
stances, it is the more flattering and profound when 
it is remembered that you have been selected as 
your own successor to an office the duties of which, 
always onerous, have been rendered of an extra- 
ordinarily sensitive, difficult and delicate nature, 
because of a change of political parties and meth- 
ods after twenty-four years of uninterrupted dom- 
ination. This exaltation is, if possible, added to 
by the fact that the declaration of principles based 
upon your last annual message to the Congress oft he 
United States relative to a tariff reduction and a dim- 
inution of the expenses of the Government, throws 
down the direct and defiant challenge for an exact- 
ing scrutiny of the administration of the executive 
power, which four years ago w^as committed in its 
trust to the election of G rover Cleveland President 
of the United States, and for the most searching 
inquiry concerning its fidelity and devotion to the 
pledges which then invited the suffrages of the 
people. An engrossed copy of that platform, 
adopted without a dissenting voice, is herewith 
tendered to you. 

In conveying, sir, to you the responsible trust 
which has been consigned to them the committee 



302 NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 

beg, individually and collectively, to express the 
great pleasure which they have lelt at the results 
attending the National Convention of the Demo- 
cratic party, and to offer to you their best wishes 
tor your official and personal success and liappi- 

ness. 

We have the honor, sir, to be your obedient 

servants. 

(Signed by all the members of the committee.) 

Mr. Thomas S. Pettit, secretary of the Notifica- 
tion Conmiittee, then presented Mr. Cleveland with 
a handsomely-engrossed copy of the platform 
adopted at the National Democratic Convention. 

THE president's ACCEPTANCE. 

Mr. Cleveland replied as follows : 

I cannot but be profoundly impressed when I 
see about me the messengers of the national De- 
mocracy, bearing its summons to duty. The polit- 
ical party to wliich I owe allegiance both honors 
and commands me. It places in my band its 
proud standard and bids me bear it high at the 
front in a battle which it wages gravely, because 
conscious of right; confidently, because its trust is 
in the people; and soberly, because it comprehends 
the obligation wdiich success imposes. 

The message which you bring awakens within 
me the liveliest sense of personal gratitude and 
satisfa(ition, and the honor which you tender me 
is in itself so great that there might well be no 
room for any other sentiment. And yet I cannot 
rid myself of grave and serious thoughts when I 
remember that party supremacy is not alone 



NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 303 

involved in the conflict whicli presses upon iis, but 
that we struggle to secure and save the cherished 
institutions, tlie welfare and the happiness of a 
nation of freemen. 

Fainiliarity with the great office which I hold 
has hut added to my apprehension of its sacred 
character and the consecration demanded of him 
who assumes its immense responsibilities. It is 
the repository of the people's will and power. 
Within its vision should be the protection and 
welfare of the humblest citizen, and with quick 
ear it should catch from the remotest corner of the 
land the plea of the people for justice and for 
right. For the sake of the people, he who holds 
this. office of theirs should resist every encroach- 
ment upon its legitimate functions, and for the 
sake of the integrity and usefulness of the office 
it should be kept near to the people and be admin- 
istered in full sympathy with their wants and 
needs. 

This occasion reminds me most vividly of the 
scene when, four years ago, I received a message 
from my party similar to that which you now de- 
liver. With all that has passed since that day I 
can truly say that the feeling of awe with which 
I heard the summons then is intensified manyfold 
when it is repeated now. Four years ago I knew 
that our chief executive office, if not carefully 
guarded, might drift little by little away from the 
people to whom it belonged and become a perver- 
si(ni of all it ought to be ; but I did not know how 
much its moorings had already been loosened. I 
knew four years ago how well devised were the 
principles of true Democracy for the successful 
operation of a government by the people and for 



304 NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 

the people; but I did not know how absolutely 
necessary their jip[)lication then was for the resto- 
ration to the people of their safety and prosperity. 
I knew then that abuses and extravai^ances had 
crept into the management of public affairs, but I 
did not know their numerous forms nor the tenacity 
of their grasp. I knew then something of the 
bitterness of partisan obstruction ; but 1 did not 
know how bitter, how reckless and how shameless 
it could be. I knew, too, that the American peo- 
ple were patriotic and just; but I did not know 
how grandly they loved their country, nor how 
noble and generous they were. 

I shall not dwell upon the acts and the policy 
of the Administration now drawins: to its close. 
Its record is open to every citizen of the land. 
And yet I will not be denied the privilege of 
asserting at this time that in the exercise of the 
functions of the high trust confided to me I have 
yielded obedience only to the Constitution and the 
solemn obligation of my oath of office. I have 
done those thin2;s which, in the liofht of the under- 
standing God has given me, seemed most condu- 
cive to the welfare of my countrymen and the 
promotion of good government. 1 would not if I 
could, for myself nor for you, avoid a single con- 
sequence of a fair interpretation of my course. 

It but remains for me to say to you, and through 
you to the Democracy of the nation, that I accept 
the nomination with which they have honored me, 
and that 1 will in due time signify such accept- 
ance in the usual formjd manner. 

JUDGE TIIUKMAN NOTIFIED. 

The members of the Democratic committee ap- 



NOTIFYING THE CANDIDATES. 305 

pointed to notify ex-Senator Allen G. Thurman of 
his nomination to the office of Vice-President arrived 
in Columbus by special train on the morning of 
June 28. Tiie committee was appropriately re- 
ceived by committees of local Democratic clubs, and 
was grandly entertained. All the regular com- 
mittee were present, except the representatives 
from Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, 
Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Rhode Island, Virginia, Arizona, and New Mexico. 
Accompanying the committee also were General 
P. F. Collins, of Massachusetts, and Hon. S. M. 
Wbyte, of California. 

At one o'clock the committee started for Judge 
Thurman's residence, and it vv^as announced that 
the meeting would be in that portion occupied by 
his sons. The pa^rty was received in the north re- 
ception-room of Mr. A. W.. Thurman's residence, 
which had been bedecked with flowers and plants. 
General Collins and Mayor Jacobs, of Louisville, 
stationed themselves at the head of the room in 
front of the window; the other members of the 
committee and the various gentlemen present hav- 
ing arranged themselves in a semicircle, awaited 
the entrance of Judge Thurman, who speedily made 
his appearance from the drawing-room on the 
south. 

Judge Thurm.an was greeted with a burst of ap- 
plause as he came forward leaning on the arm of 
u 



306 NOTIFYING TllE CANDIDATES. 

his son, Mr. A. W. Thurman. It was an irnpres- 
f^ive sight, and one well calculated to accompany 
the scene about to be completed. As soon as Judge 
Thurman had taken his seat and bowed to the 
gentlemen standing ready to receive him, General 
(Collins advanced, and, after shaking him by the 
hand, spoke as follows: "Judge Thurman, we bear 
a message from the great council of your party. 
It is but a formal notice of your nomination by that 
body for the high office of Vice-President of the 
United States. Rich as our language is in power 
and expression, it contains no words to adequately 
convev the sentiment of that Convention as its 
heart went out to you. I present my friend, 
Charles D. Jacobs, Mayor of Louisville." 

Mr. Jacobs stepped forward, and in an earnest 
voice read a formal letter of notification, which 
was siirned bv the committee on notification. 

Mr. Thurman thanked the committee in well- 
chosen words, stating that he accepted the nomina- 
tion, and shortly afterward the committee with- 
drew. 



Interesting 
Facts about all our Presidents. 



ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 
1789-1797. 

The 4th of March, 1789, was the time appointed 
for the Government of the United States to go into 
operation under its new organization ; but several 
weeks elapsed before quorums of both Houses of 
Congress were assembled. The city of New York 
was the place where Congress then met. 

On the 6th of April the electoral votes were 
counted. At that time, and until 1805, each elec- 
tor voted by ballot for two persons. If a majority 
of all the votes w^ere cast for any person, he who 
received the greatest number of votes became 
President, and he who received the next greatest 
number became Vice-President. When the votes 
were counted they were found to be for George 
Washington, of Virginia, 69 (all of the electors 
having voted for him), John Adams, of Massachu- 
setts received 34 votes, and 35 votes were cast for 
various other candidates. 

Charles Thompson, the oldest secretary of Con- 
gress, was sent to Mount Vernon to notify Wash- 
ington of his election. Washington promptly sig- 
nified his acceptance of the office, and, two days 
later, started for New York. He was desirous of 

2 cm 



18 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



travelling as; quietly and unostentatiously as possi- 
ble, but the people of the States through which he 
passed would not permit him to do so. His jour- 
ney was a constant ovation. Crowds greeted him 
at every town witli the most enthusiastic demon- 
strations of affection and confidence; triumphal 




GEORGE WAS1II>'GT0N. 



arches were erected, and his way was strewn with 
liowers by young girls; and maidens and mothers 
greeted him with songs composed in his honor. 
In consequence of these demonstrations his pro- 
gress was so much retarded that he did not reach 
New Yoriv until the latter part of April. 

On the 30th of April Washington appeared on 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 19 

the balcony of Federal Hall, New York, on the 
site of Vv'hich the United States Treasury now 
stands, and took the oath of office in the presence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, and 
a large crowd of citizens assembled in the streets 
below. He then repaired to the Senate chamber, 
and there delivered an address to both Houses of 
Congress. The plan of the new government 
being now completed. Congress proceeded to its or- 
ganization through the departments of the judi- 
ciary, of state, of the treasury, of war, and of 
attorney-general. 

President Washington appointed Thomas Jeffer- 
son, of Virginia, Secretary of State, Alexander Ham- 
ilton, of New York, Secretary of the Treasury, and 
General Henry Knox, of Massachusetts, Secretary 
of War. John Jay, of New York, was made Chief- 
Justice of the United States, and Edmund Ran- 
dolph, of Virginia, Attorney-General. 

Frederick A. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania, was 
chosen Speak^^r of the House ; but his election was 
not a party triumph, for parties were still in a 
state of utter confusion. Between the extreme 
Anti-Federalists, who considered the Constitution 
a long step toward a despotism, and the extreme 
Federalists, who desired a monarchy m.odeled on 
that of England — there were all varieties of polit- 
ical opinion. Washington, through the universal 
confidence in his integrity and good judgment, had 
the ability to hold together the conservative men 



20 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

of all parties for a time, and prevent party contest 
upon the interpretation of Federal powers until 
the Constitution should be tested and its value de- 
monstrated to the people. 

In 1792 the second Presidential election took 
place. Washington was anxious to retire, but 
yielded to the wishes of the people, and was again 
chosen President by the unanimous vote of the 
electoral colleges of the several States. 

The electoral votes were counted in February, 
1793, and found to be for George Washington 132 
(all the electors having voted for him), for John 
Adams 77, for Georire Clinton 50, for Thomas 
Jefferson 4, and for Aaron Burr 1. Washington 
was inaugurated on the 4th of xMarch, 1793. 

At the close of his term of office Washimrton 
withdrew to his home at Mount Vernon, to enjoy 
the repose lie had so w^ell earned, and which was 
so ixrateful to him. His administration had been 
eminently successful. When he entered upon the 
duties of the Presidency the government was new 
and untried, and its best friends doubted its ability 
to exist long; the finances were in confusion, and 
the country was burdened with debt ; the disputes 
with Great Britain threatened to involve the 
country in a new war; and the authority of the 
general government was uncertain and scarcely 
recognized. When he left office the state of affairs 
was changed. The government had been severely 
tested, and had bQt»i found equal to any demand 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 21 

upon it. The disputes with England had been ar* 
ranged, and the country, no longer threatened with 
war, but was free to devote its energies to its im- 
provement. Industry and commerce were growing 
rapidly. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 
4th of March, 1797— 4th of March, 1801. 

At the elections held in the flill of 1796 the 
Federalists put forward John Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts, as their candidate, while the Republicans 
or Democrats supported Thomas Jefferson, of Vir- 
ginia. The contest was very bitter, and resulted in 
the election of Mr. Adams. Mr. Jefferson, receiv- 
ing; the next liicrhest number of votes, was de- 
clared Vice-President, in accordance with the law 
as it then stood. 

The electoral vote was counted in February and 
was as follows : For John Adams 71, for Thomas 
Jefferson 08, for Thomas Pinckney 59, for Aaron 
Burr 30, and the rest scattering. 

On the 4th of March, 1797, Mr. Adams, the 
second President of the United States, was inau- 
gurated at Philadelphia, in the presence of both 
Houses of Comrress, and Thomas Jefferson was in- 
augurated as Vice-President. Mr. Adams was 
dressed in a full suit of pearl-colored broadcloth, 
and wore his hair powdered. He was in the sixty- 
second year of his age, and in the full vigor of 
health and intellect. 



22 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



Mr. Adams made no clianges in the cabinet 
left by President AVashington, and the policy of 
hh Administration corresponded throughout with 
thai of liis great predecessor. He came into office 
at a time when this policy was to bo subjected to 




JOHN ADAMS. 



the severest test, and was to he triumphantly vin- 
dicated by tlie trial. Mr. Adams began his official 
career with the declaration of his '^determination 
to maintain peace and inviolate faith with all 
nations, and neutrality and impartiality with the 
belligerent powers of Europe." 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



23 



During the summer of the year 1800 the seat of 
the general government was removed from Phila- 
delphia to the new federal city of ¥/ashington, in 
the District of Columbia. On the 22d of Novem- 
ber, the session of Congress was opened in the un- 
finished capitol of Washington. 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFEESON. 

4th of March, 1801— 4th of March, 1809. 

The elections for President and Vice-President 
were held in the autumn of 1800. John Adams 



24 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

was the Federalist candidate for the Presidency, 
and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney the candidate 
of that party for Vice-President. The Republican 
or Democratic party nominated Thomas Jefferson 
for the Presidency, and Colonel Aaron Burr, of 
New York, for the Vice-Presidency. The alien 
and sedition laws had rendered the Federalist party 
so unpopular that the electors chosen at the polls 
failed to make a choice, and the election was 
thrown upon the House of Representatives; ac- 
cording to the terms of the Constitution. 

Tlie votes of the electoral colle2:e were for 
Jefferson, 73; Burr, 73; Adams, 65; Pinckney, 
64 ; and John Jny, 1. The States that cast the 
electoral votes of their colleges for Mr. Jefferson 
and Colonel Burr were nine ; to wit, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentuck}', 
North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and 
Georgia. Those that cast the electoral votes of 
their colleges for Mr. Adams and Mr. Pinckney 
were seven; to wit, New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New 
Jersey, and Delaware. Rhode Island cast one 
vote for Mr. Jay, to prevent that equality of votes 
on the Federal ticket, which, for the want of a 
like precaution, resulted on the Republican side, 
and which caused so much excitement and confu- 
sion. Mr. Jefferson and Colonel Burr having re- 
ceived an equal number of votes, there was no 
election by the colleges, as the Constitution then 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 25 

stood. It then devolved upon the House of Eep- 
resentatives, voting by States, to choose for Presi- 
dent and Vice-President between Mr. Jefferson and 
Colonel Burr. 

On the 17th of February, 1801, after thirty-six 
ballots, the House elected Thomas Jefferson Presi- 
dent, and Aaron Burr Vice-President of the United 
States, for a term of four years from and after the 
4th of March, 1801. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at the new capitol, 
in the city of Washington, on the 4th of March, 
1801. He was in his fifty-eighth year, and had 
long been regarded as one of the most iUustrious 
men in America. He was the author of the Dec- 
laration of Independence, had represented the 
country as minister to France, had served in the 
cabinet of General Washinfrton as Secretary of 
State, f^nd had filled the high office of Vice-Presi- 
dent during the administration of Mr. Adams. 
He was the founder of the Democratic party, and 
was reo^arded bv it with an enthusiastic devotion 
which could see no flaw in his character. By the 
Federalists he w\as denounced with intense bitter, 
ness as a Jacobin, and an enemy of organized gov. 
ernment. He was unquestionably a believer in 
the largest freedom possible to man ; but he was 
too deeply versed in the lessons of statesmanship, 
and was too pure a patriot to entertain for a mo- 
inent the levelling principles with which his ene« 



26 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

mies charged him. Under him the government of 
the republic suffered no diminution of strength, but 
his administration was a gain to the country. 

Mr. Jefferson began his administration by seek- 
ing to undo as far as possible tlie evil effects of 
the sedition act of 179S. A number of persons 
were in prison in consequence of sentences under 
this act at the time of his inauguration. These 
were at once pardoned by the President and re- 
leased from prison. 

At the meeting of the seventh Congress, in 
December, 1801, President Jefferson, in pursuance 
of an announcement made some time before, in- 
augurated the custom which has since prevailed 
of sending a written message to each House of 
Congress, giving his views on public affairs and 
the situation of the countrv. Previous to this the 
President had always met the two Houses upon 
their assembling:, and had addressed them in 
person. 

In the fall of 1804 the fifth Presidential election 
was held. The Republicans, or Democrats, voted for 
Mr. Jefferson for the office of President; this time 
Mr. Burr was dropped by his party, who nomi- 
nated George Clinton, of New York, for Vice-Presi- 
dent in his place. The Federals su[)ported Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckriey for President, and Rufus 
Ku]<j^ for Vice-President. The result was one 
hundred and sixty-two elector»d votes for Mr. 
Jefferson and Mr. Clinton, and fourteen only for 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 27 

Mr. Piiickney and Mr. King. By States the vote 
stood : fifteen fur the Democratic or Republican 
ticivet, and only two States for the Federal. These 
two were Connecticut and Delaware. So popular 
was Mr. Jefferson's Administration, that the cen- 
tralizing party, styling itself " Federal," had be- 
come almost extinct. He was inaugurated for a 
second term on the 4th of March, 1805. 

Aaron Burr had at last experienced the reward 
of his insincerity : both parties had come to dis- 
trust him. After his defeat for the Vice-Presidency 
he had been nominated by his party as their can- 
didate for governor of New York. He was warmly 
opposed by Alexander Hamilton, who was inainly 
instrumental in briniiini^ about his defeat. Burr 
never forgave Hamilton for his course in this 
election, and took advantage of the first opportu- 
nity to challenge him to a duel. They met at 
Weehawken, on the banks of the Hudson opposite 
New York, on the 11th of July, 1804. Hamilton, 
who had accepted the challenge in opposition to 
his better judgment, and who had expressed his 
intention not to fire at Burr, was mortalhMvounded, 
and died within twenty-four hours. In him per- 
ished one of the bri<2:htest intellects and most 
earnest patriots of the republic. His loss was 
regarded as second only to that of Washington, 
and the sad news of his death was received in all 
parts of the country with profound and unaffected 
sorrow. 



28 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The murder of Hamilton, for it was nothing 
else, closed Burr s political career. His remaining 
years were passed in restless intrigue. 

ADxMINISTRATlON OF JAMES MADISON. 

4th of March, 1809— 4th of March, 1817. 

In the election of 1808 Mr. Jefferson, following 
the example of President Washington, declined to 
be a candidate for a third term, and the Democratic 
or administration party supported James Madison 
for the Presidency, and George Clinton for the Vice- 
Presidency. The Federal party again nominated 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for President, and 
Eufus King for Vice-President. The result of the 
election w^as, 122 electoral votes for Madison and 
47 for Pinckney, for President, and Ho for Clinton 
and 47 for King for Vice-President. By States 
the vote stood: 12 for the Democratic ticket, and 
5 for the Federal. These five were New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, Pthode Island, Connecticut, 
and Delaware. 

James Madison, the fourth President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at Washington on 
the 4th of March, 1809. He was in the fifty-eighth 
year of his age, and had long been one of the most 
prominent men in the Union. He had borne a 
distinguished part in the convention of 1787, and 
was the author of the Virginia resolutions of 1786, 
which brought about the assembling of this con- 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 29 

vention. He had entered the convention as one 
of the most prominent leaders of the national 
party, which favored the consolidation of the 
States into one distinct and supreme nation, and 
had acted with Randolph, Hamilton, Wilson, 
Morris, and King, in seeking to bring about such 
a result. When it was found impossible to carry 
out this plan Mr. Madison gave his cordial support 
to the system which was finally adopted by the 
convention; and while the constitution was under 
discussion by the States, he united with Hamilton 
and Jay in earnestly recommending the adoption of 
the constitution by the States, in a series of able 
articles, to wdiich the general title of the " Feder- 
alist" was given. After the organization of the 
government Mr. Madison was a member of the 
House of Representatives, and was regarded as 
one of the leaders of the Federalist party, and gave 
to Hamilton his cordial support in the finance 
measures of that minister. Towards the close of 
Washington's administration, however, Mr. Madi- 
son's political views underwent a great change. 
He was a near neighbor and warm friend of Mr. 
Jefferson, and was greatly influenced by the opin- 
ions and the strong personal character of that great 
statesman. As the political controversies of the 
time deepened, he became more and more inclined 
towards the Republican or " Strict Construction '* 
party, and in Mr. Adams' administration took his 
position as one of the leaders of that party. At 




JAMES MADISON. 



(SO) 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 31 

the time of his election to the Presidency, Mr. 
Jefferson having withdrawn from public life, Mr. 
Madison was the reco2!:nized leader of the Demo- 
cratic party, as the Republican party had come to 
be called. 

In 1812 Mr. Madison was again nominated for 
President by the Democratic party, and Elbridge 
Gerry, of Connecticut, for Vice-President. De 
AVitt Clinton, of New York, was supported by the 
tinti-administration or old Federal party for Presi- 
dent, and Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, for 
Vice-President. Mr. Madison received 128 elec- 
toral votes for President, and Mr. Clinton 89. Mr. 
Gerry received 131 for Vice-President, and Mr. 
Ingersoll 86. By States, the vote stood : For the 
regular Democratic candidates, 11 ; and for the 
Opposition candidates, 7. The eleven States that 
voted for Mr. Madison were : Vermont, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and 
Louisiana; and the seven that voted for Mr. Clin- 
ton Avere : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and 
Delaware. 

Mr. Madison was inaugurated President for a 
second time, on the 4th of March, 1813. The 
most distinguishing feature of his administration 
was the war with Great Britain. Whatever may 
be thought of the wisdom or the policy of that 
war, or of its general conduct, the result unques- 



32 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

tionably added greatly to the public character of 
the United States in the estimation of foreisjn 
powers. The price at which this had been pur- 
chased was in round numbers about one hundred 
million dollars in public expenditures, and the loss 
of about thirty thousand men, including those ^vho 
fell in battle as well as those who died of disease 
contracted in the service. At the close of his 
term Mr. Madison retired from office, leaving the 
country at peace with the world, and rapidly re- 
covering from the injurious effects of the late war. 
He returned to his home at Montpelier, Virginia, 
where he enjoyed the society of his friends and the 
general esteem of his countrymen. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE. 
4th of March, 1817— 4th of March, 1825. 
Tlie eighth presidential election took place in the 
fall of 1816. Mr. Madison having declined to be 
a candidate for a third term, the Democratic party 
nominated James Monroe, of Virixinia, for Presi- 
dent ; Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, for 
Vice-President, and elected them by large majori- 
ties over the Federal candidates, who were : For 
President, Rufus King, of New York ; for Vice- 
President, John Howard, of Maryland. The re- 
sult of the vote of the Electoral Colleges was 183 
for Mr. Monroe, and 34 for Mr. King, for President ; 
183 for Mr. Tompkins, and 22 for Mr. Howard, for 
Vice-President. The vote by States at this election 




JAMES T^rONROE. 



(33) 



o4 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRLSIDENTS. 

stood : 16 for the Democratic, and 3 for the Federal 
candidates. The 16 States that voted for Mr. 
Monroe and Mr. Tompkins ^vere : New Hamp- 
shire, Rhode IsLand, Vermont, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and Indiana. The 3 that 
voted for Mr. King were: Massachusetts, Connec- 
ticut, and Delaware. 

James Monroe, the fifth President of tlie United 
States, was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 
1817, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. His in- 
augural address gave general satisfaction to all 
parties. His cabinet were : John Quincy Adams, 
of Massachusetts, Secretary of State; William H. 
Crawford, of Georgia, Secretary of the Treasury; 
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Secretary of 
War; William Wirt, of Virginia, Attorney-General; 
Smith Thompson, of New York, Secretary of the 
Navy. These were all men of distinguished 
ability, and thoroughly identified with the Demo- 
cratic pnrt}^ at the time. 

In the fall of 1820 Mr. Monroe and Governor 
Tompkins were re-elected President and Vice- 
President of the United States. Mr. Monroe re- 
ceived at the polls a majority of the votes of every 
State in the Union, and every electoral vote but 
one. The electoral college of New Hampshire 
cast one vote ibr John Quincy Adams. 

The 4th of March this year coining on Sunday, 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 35 

Mr. Monroe was inaugurated for the second term 
on the succeeding day, Monday, the 5th of that 
month. 

Monroe's election had been so nearly unanimous, 
and party divisions had nominally so far disap- 
peared, that his administration is commonly 
called the era of good feeling. In reality there was 
as much bad feeling between the Strict Construc- 
tionists and the Loose Constructionists of his party 
as could have existed between two opposing parties. 
The want of regularly organized parties had only 
the effect of making the next Presidential election 
a personal instead of a party contest, the worst 
form a political struggle can take. 

ADMINISTKATION OF JOHN QUINCY 

ADAMS. 

4th of March, 1825— 4th of March, 1829. 

In the fall of 1824 the presidential election was 
held amid great political excitement. The "era 
of good feeling " was at an end, and party spirit 
ran high. There were four candidates in the field, 
Mr. Monroe having declined a third term; Andrew 
Jackson, John Quincy Ad;ims, William H. Craw- 
ford, and Henry Clay. None of these received a 
popular majority, and the election was thrown into 
the House of Representatives in Congress, and re- 
sulted in the choice of John Quincy Adams, of 
Massachusetts, as President of the United States. 



36 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The result of the electoral vote was 99 for 
Andrew Jackson, 84 for John Quincy Adams, 41 
for William H. Crawford, and 37 for Henry Clay, 
for President ; and 182 for John C. Calhoun for 
Vice-President, with some scattering votes for 
others. The States that voted for Gen. Jackson 
were : New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama — eleven 
in all. Those which voted for John Quincy Adams 
were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rliode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, and New 
York — seven in all. Those that voted for Mr. 
Crawford were : Delaware, Virginia, and Georgia. 
While those that voted for Mr, Clay were: Ken- 
tucky, Oijio, and Missouri. 

Mr. Calhoun, having received a large m«ijority 
of the electoral votes, was duly declared elected 
Vice-President ; but neither of the candidates for 
President having received a majority of the votes 
of the Electoral Colleges, the choice, under the 
Constitution, devolved upon the House of Repre- 
sentatives, voting by States. This choice was 
made on the 9th of February, 1825; when, upon 
counting the ballots, it was found that John Quincy 
Adams received the votes of thirteen States, 
Andrew Jackson the votes of seven States, and 
Mr. Crawford the votes of four States. Mr. Adams 
having received the votes of a mnjority of the 
States was declared elected to succeed Mr. Monroe. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



37 



This election produced great discontent through- 
out the country, and most seriously affected the 
popularity of Mr. Clay, as the election of Mr. 
Adams was attributed mainly to his agency, which 
had been exerted, as w^as supposed by many, 
with a view to defeat the election of Gen. Jackson, 




JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

who by the returns of the electoral vote seemed to 
stand highest in the popular favor. 

On the 4th of March, 1825, John Quincy Adams 
was inaugurated President of the United States. 
He was the son of John Adams, the second Presi- 
dent of the republic, and was in his fifty-eighth 



38 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

year. He was a man of great natural ability, of 
strong personal character, and of unbending integ- 
rity. He had been carefully educated, and was 
one of the most learned men in the Union. Apart 
from his general education he had received a special 
training in statesmanship. He had served as min- 
ister to the Netherlands, and in the same capacity 
at the courts of Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and 
England, where he had maintained a high reputa- 
tion. He had represented the State of Massachu- 
setts in the Federal Senate, and had been secretary 
of state, in the cabinet of Mr. Monroe, during the 
last administration. He was, therefore, thoroughly 
qualified for the duties of the high office upon 
which he now entered. He called to his cabinet 
men of marked ability, at the head of which was 
Henry Clay, who became secretary of state. The 
administration of Mr. Adams w^as one of remark- 
able prosperity. The country was growing 
wealthier by the rapid increase of its agriculture, 
manufactures, and commerce ; and abroad it com- 
manded the respect of the world. Still party 
spirit raged with great violence during the wdiole 
of this period. 

During Mr. Adams' administration the tariff 
question again engaged the attention of the country. 
The manufacturinii; interests were still stru2:2:lin^ 
against foreign competition, and it was the opinion 
of the Eastern and Middle States that the general 
government should protect them by the imposition 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 39 

of high duties upon products of foreign countries 
imported into the Union. The South was almost 
a unit in its o[>position to a high tariff. Being, as 
we have said, an agricultural section, its interests 
demanded a -free market, and it wished to avail 
itself of the privilege of purchasing where it could 
buy cheapest. The South and the West were the 
markets of the East, and the interests of that sec- 
tion demanded the exclusion of foreign competition 
in supplying these markets. 

In July, 1827, a convention of manufacturers 
was held at Harris burg, Pennsylvania, and a me- 
morial was adopted praying Congress to increase 
the duties on foreign goods to an extent which 
would protect American industry. When Congress 
met in December, 1827, the protective policy was 
the miost important topic of the day. It was 
warmly discussed in Congress and throughout the 
country. The interests of New England were 
championed by the matchless eloquence of Daniel 
Webster, who claimed that as the adoption of the 
protective policy by the government had forced 
New England to turn her energies to manufac- 
tures, the government was bound to protect her 
against competition. The Southern representatives 
argued that a protective tariff was unconstitutional, 
and was injurious in its operations to the interests 
of the people of the Southern States, who, being 
producers of staples for export, ought to have 
liberty to purchase such articles as they needed 



40 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

wherever thej could find them cheapest. They 
declared tliat duties under the protective policy 
were not only bounties to manufacturers, but a 
heavy tax levied upon their constituents and a 
great majority of the consumers in all the States, 
which never went into the public treasury. The 
tariff bill was passed by the House on the 15th of 
April, 1828, and was approved by the President a 
little later. It was termed by its opponents the 
" Bill of Abominations." 

In the midst of this excitement the presidential 
election occurred. Mr. Adams was a candidate 
for re-election. The contest between the two 
parties, the Administration and Opposition, over 
the powers and limitations of the Federal Govern- 
ment, became almost as hot and fierce as it was in 
1800, between the Federalists and Kepublicans of 
that day. General Jackson, without any caucus 
nomination, was supported by the Opposition every- 
where for President, and Mr. Calhoun for Vice- 
President. The friends of the Administration put 
forth the utmost of their exertions for the re-elec- 
tion of Mr. Adams to the office of President, and 
Richard Rush to the oflice of Vice-President. The 
result of the vote of the Electoral Colleges was, 178 
for Jackson, and 83 for Adams; 171 for Mr. 
Calhoun, and 83 for Mr. Rush. The vote for 
President by States stood : 15 for Jackson and 9 
for Adams. The 15 States that voted for Jackson 
were : New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 4l 

Carolina, Soath Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illi- 
nois, Alabama, and Missouri ; the 9 that voted for 
Mr. Adams were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, 
New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

March 4th, 1829— March 4th, 1837. 

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the 
United States, was inaugurated at Washington, on 
the 4th of March, 1829. 

President Jackson was in many respects one of 
the most remarkable men of his day. He pos- 
sessed a combination of qualities seldom met with 
in any one person. Education had done but little 
for him ; but by nature he was fitted for the gov- 
ernment of men both in the field and in the Cabi- 
net. During the Administration of the elder 
Adams he had occupied a seat in the United States 
Senate from Tennessee, and gave a most cordial 
support to the principles of Mr. Jefferson. Resign- 
ing his place in that body, he was afterwards 
elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
his State. His military achievements in the wars 
against the Creek and Seminole Indians, and his 
victory over the British at New Orleans, have been 
fully recorded. 

The election of General Jackson to the Presi- 




AIsDllLW JACKSON. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 43 

dency was regarded with some anxiety, for though 
his merits as a soldier were conceded, it was feared 
by many that his known imperiousness of will and 
liis inflexibility of purpose would seriously dis- 
qualify him for the delicate duties of the Presi- 
dency. Nature had made him a ruler, however, 
and his administration was marked by the fearless 
energy that characterized every act of his life, and 
was on the whole successful and satisfactory to 
the great majority of his countrymen. 

General Jackson began his administration by 
appointing a new cabinet, at the head of which he 
placed Martin Van Buren, of New York, as Secre- 
tary of State. Until now the postmaster-general 
had not been regarded as a cabinet officer. General 
Jackson invited that officer to a seat in his cabinet 
and a share in its deliberations, and his course has 
been pursued by all of his successors. 

Early in 1831, the question of the Presidential 
succession was agitated. The Legislature of Penn- 
sylvania put General Jackson in nomination for 
re-election, he having consented to be a candidate. 

The election took place in the fall of 1832. 
General Jackson was supported for the Presidency 
by the Democratic party, and Mr. Clay by the 
Whig party. The contest was marked by intense 
bitterness, for Jackson's veto of the cliarter of the 
Bank of the United States, his other vetoes of 
public improvement bills, and his attitude in the 
" Nullification " controversy between the United 



44 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

States and South Carolina, had created a strong 
opposition to liini in all parts of the country. In 
spite of this opposition he was re-elected by a tri- 
umphant majority, and Martin Van Buren, of 
New York, the Democratic nominee, was chosen 
Vice-President. 

The following^ electoral votes were cast for the 
respective candidates : for Jackson, 219 ; for Clay, 
49 ; and for Wirt, the Anti-Masonic candidate, 7 
votes. For Vice-President, the electoral votes 
stood: for Martin Van Buren, 189; for John 
Sergeant, 49 ; for Amos Ellmaker, 7. The vote 
by States for the candidates for the Presidency 
stood: 16 for Jackson; 6 for Clay; and 1 for 
Wirt. The 16 States that voted for Jackson were: 
Maine, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, 
Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, 
Illinois, Alabama, and Missouri ; the 6 States that 
voted for Mr. Clay were : Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and 
Kentucky ; the State that voted for Mr. Wirt was: 
Vermont; South Carolina cast her vote for John 
Floyd, of Virginia, for President, and Henry Lee, 
of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. 

President Jackson was inaugurated for his 
second term on the 4th of March, 1833. 

In the meantime serious trouble had arisen be- 
tween the general government and the State of 
South Carolina. During the year 1832 the tariff 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 45 

was revised by Congress, and that body, instead of 
diminishing the duties, increased many of them. 
This action gave great offence to the Southern 
States, which regarded the denial of free trade as 
a great wrong to them. They were willing to sub- 
mit to a tariff sufficient for a revenue, but were 
utterly opposed to a protective tariff for the reasons 
we liave already stated. 

The State of South Carolina resolved to "nul- 
lify " the law within its own limits. A convention 
of the people of the State was held, which adopted 
a measure known as the " Nullification Ordinance." 
This ordinance declared that the tariff act of 1832, 
being based upon the principle of protection, and 
not upon the principle of raising revenue, was un- 
constitutional, and was therefore null and void. 
This ordinnnce was to take effect on the 12tli of 
February, 1833, unless in the meantime the general 
government should abandon its policy of protection 
and return to a tariff for revenue only. 

The country at large was utterly opposed to the 
course of South Carolina, and denied its right to 
nullify a law of Congress, or to withdraw from the 
Union in support of this right. Intense excitement 
prevailed, and the course of the President was 
watched with the gravest anxiety. Pie was 
known to be opposed to the protective policy ; but 
it was generally believed that he was firm in his 
intention to enforce the laws, however he might 
disapprove of them. 



46 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

President Jackson took measures promptly to 
enforce the law. He ordered a large body of troops 
to assemble at Charleston, under General Scott, 
and a ship of war was sent to that port to ass^ist 
the federal officers in collecting the duties on im- 
ports. Civil war seemed for a time inevitable. 
The President was firmly resolved to compel the 
submission of South Carolina, and the issue of such 
a conflict could not be doubtful. 

Fortunately a peaceful settlement of the trouble 
was effected. Mr. Verplanck, of New York, a sup- 
porter of the administration, introduced a bill into 
Congress for a reduction of the tariff, and the State 
of Virginia sent Benjamin Watkins Leigh, a dis- 
tinguished citizen, as commissioner to South Caro- 
lina, to urge her to suspend the execution of her 
ordinance until March 4th, as there was a proba- 
bility that a peaceful settlement of the difficulty 
would be arranged before that time. South Caro- 
lina consented to be guided by this appeal. 

Henry Clay, with his usual patriotic self-sacrifice, 
now came forward in the Senate with a compromise 
which he hoped would put an end to the trouble. 
He introduced a bill providing for the gradual re- 
duction in ten years of all duties then above the 
revenue standard. ^'One-tenth of one-half of all the 
duties for protection above; that standard Avas to be 
taken off annually lor ten }ears, at the end of 
which period the whole of the other half was to be 
taken ofl, and thereafter all duties were to be 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 47 

levied mainly with a view to revenue and not for 
protection." This measure with some modifica- 
tions was adopted by both Houses of Congress, 
and was approved by the President on the 2d of 
March, 1833. The people of South Carolina 
rescinded their ^' Nullification Ordinance," and the 
trouble was fortunately brought to an end. 

The Administration of Gen. Jackson was distin- 
scuished for many acts of forei2:n as well as domes- 
tic policy which cannot be embraced in this brief 
sketch. Taken all together, it made a deep and 
lasting impression upon the policy and history of 
the States. On his retirement following the ex- 
ample of Washington, he issued a Farewell Address, 
in which he evinced the most ardent patriotism and 
the most earnest devotion to the cause of constitu- 
tional liberty. 

The presidential election was held in the fall of 
1836. General Jackson having declined to be a 
candidate for a third term, the Democratic party 
supported Martin Yan Buren for President, and 
Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, for Vice-Presi- 
dent. Mr. Yan Buren was elected ; but the 
electors having failed to make a choice of a candi- 
date for Yice-President, that task devolved upon 
the Senate, which elected Colonel Richard M. 
Johnson by a majority of seventeen votes. 

The electoral votes cast for the several can- 
didates for President were as follows: 170 for 
Martin Yan Buren, 14 for Daniel Webster, 73 for 



48 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

William Henry Harrison, 11 for W. P. Mangum, 
of N. C, and 26 for H. L. White, of Tennessee. 
Mr. Van Buren, having received a majority, was 
duly declared President for the next term. The 
vote by States in tliis election was : 15 for Mr. 
Van Buren, 7 for General Harrison, 2 for Mr. 
White, and 1 for Mr. Webster. The 15 States 
that voted for Mr. Van Buren were : Maine, New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Illinois, Ahihama, Missouri, Arkansas, 
and Michigan; the 7 that voted for General Har- 
rison were: Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, 
Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana; the 2 
that voted for Mr. White were : Georgia and Ten- 
nessee ; the one State that voted for Mr. Webster 
was Massachusetts. 

The votes of the Electoral Colleges for Vice- 
President were : 147 for Richard M. Johnson, of 
Kentucky; 77 for Francis Granger, of New York*, 
47 for John Tyler, of Virginia; and 28 for Wil- 
liam Smith, of Alabama. Neither of the candi- 
dates for Vice-President having received a majority 
of the votes, the choice of that officer devolved upon 
the Senate, and that body elected Col. Johnson by 
a vote of 33, against 16 for Mr. Granger. 

ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 
4th of March, 1837— 4th of March, 1841. 
Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 4D 

United States, was inaugurated on the 4th of 
March, 1837, in the 55th year of his age. "At high 
noon the President elect took his seat, with his 
venerable predecessor, General Jackson, in a car- 
riage, made from the wood of the frigate Con- 
stitutiou, presented to General Jackson by the 
Democracy of the city of New York. In this from 
the White House they proceeded to the Capitol. 
After reaching the Senate Chamber Mr. Van Buren, 
attended by the ex-President, and the members of 
the Senate, led the way to the rostrum, where the 
Inaugural Address was delivered in clear and im- 
pressive tones. At the close of the Address the 
oath of office was admhiistered by Chief-Justice 
Taney." 

In the Address Mr. Van Buren indicated his 
purpose, on all matters of public policy, to follow 
in the " footsteps of his illustrious predecessor." 

A distinguished writer, in speaking of Mr. Yan 
Buren's Administration, as a whole, says : 

" The great event of General Jackson's Admin- 
istration was the contest with the Bank of the 
United States, and its destruction as a Federal 
institution — that of Madison's was the war — while 
Jefferson's was a general revolution of the anti- 
Democratic spirit and policy of the preceding 
Administration. The great event of Mr. Yan 
Buren's Administration, by which it will hereafter 
be known and designated, is, the divorce of Bank 
and State in the fiscal affairs of the Federal Gov- 
4 




iSARTIN VAN BUR£J 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 61 

ernment, and the return, after half a century of 
deviation, to the original design of the Constitu- 
tion." 

In the fall of 1840 another Presidential election 
was held. Mr. Van Buren and Vice-President 
Johnson were nominated for re-election by the 
Democratic party, and the Whigs supported Gen- 
eral William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, for Presi- 
dent, and John Tyler, of Virginia, for Vice-Presi- 
dent. The financial distress of the country which 
had been very great since 1837, was generally 
attributed by the people to the interference of the 
government with the currency. This feeling made 
the Democratic nominees exceedingly unpopular, 
and the political campaign was one of the most 
excitino; ever conducted in this country. 

The principal issues in this contest were the 
Bub-treasury system, extravagant appropriations, 
defalcations, and profligacy of numerous subordi- 
nate officers. The "gold spoons" furnished the 
Executive Mansion figured prominently in the 
canvass. All the opposing elements united under 
the Whig banner. This party held a general con- 
vention at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the 4th 
of December, 1839, for the purpose of nominating 
candidates for President and Vice-President. It 
was generally supposed that Mr. Cl^y would re- 
ceive the nomination of this body for President. 
But his course on the Tariff Compromise of 1833 
bad greatly weakened him with the ProtectionistB. 



52 PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

When he adopted that course he was told it would 
lose him the Presidency. His reply at the time 
was, '' I would rather be right than be President." 
The Democratic party held their general conven- 
tion in Baltimore on the oth of May, 1840. Log- 
cabins and hard cider, which were supposed to be 
typical of Harrison's frontier life, became very 
popular with the Whigs. The result of the elec- 
tion, after a heated canvass, was 234 electoral 
votes for Harrison for President, and 234 for John 
Tyler for Vice-President. Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived 60 electoral votes for President; Kichard 
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received 48 for Vice- 
President; Littleton W. Tazewell, of Virginia, 11, 
and James K. Polk, of Tennessee. 1. The vote 
for President by States stood 19 for General Har- 
rison and 7 for Mr. Van Buren. The seven States 
that voted for Mr. Van Buren were : New Hamp- 
shire, Virginia, South Carolina^ Illinois, i^labama, 
Missouri, and Arkansas. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND 

TYLER. 

4th of March, 1841— 4th of March, 1845. 

William Henry Harrison, the ninth President 
of the United States, was inaugurated on the 4th 
of March, 1841, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. 
The citv of Washinirton was thronged with people, 
many of whom were from the most distant States" 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



53 



of the Union. • A procession was formed from his 
hotel quarters to the capitol. The President-elect 
was mounted upon a white charger, accompanied 
by several personal friends, but his immediate escort 
were the officers and soldiers who had fought under 
hira. The inaugural address was delivered on a 




J#/ 



WILLIAM HENRY HAKillSON. 



platform erected over the front steps of the portico 
of the east front of the capitol. The oath of office 
was administered by Chief-Justice Taney, before 
an audience estimated at 60,000 people. 

He was a man of pure life and earnest character, 
and the certainty of a change of policy in the 
measures of the federal government had caused 



54 PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

the people of the country to look forward to his 
administration with hope and confidence. He 
began by calling to seats in his cabinet men of 
prominence and ability. At the head of the cab- 
inet he placed Daniel Webster as Secretary of 
State. The President was not destined to fulfil 
the hopes of his friends. He was suddenly at- 
tacked with pneumonia, and died on the 4th of 
April — just one month after his inauguration. 

It was the first time that a President of the 
United States had died in office, and a gloom waa 
cast over the nation by the sad event. The mourn- 
ing of the people was sincere, for in General Har- 
rison the nation lost a faithful, upright, and able 
leader. He had spent forty j^ears in prominent 
public positions, and -had discharged every duty 
confided to him wdth ability and integrity, and 
went to his grave a poor man. 

The office of President now, for the first time, de- 
volved upon the Vice-President, John Tyler, who, 
by the death of General Harrison, became the tenth 
President of the United States. He was not in the 
City of Washington at the time of the death of his 
predecessor, but repaired to that city without loss 
of time, upon being notified of the death of General 
Harrison, and on the Gth of April took the oath of 
office before Judge Cranch, Chief-Justice of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. Mr. Tyler was in liis fifty-second 
year, and had served as governor of Virginia, and 
as representative and senator in Congress from 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



55 



that State. On the 9th of April President Tyler 
issued an address to the people of the United States, 
in which there was no indication of a departure 
from the policy announced in the inaugural of Gen- 
eral Harrison. He retained the cabinet ministers of 
his predecessors in their respective positions. ' 

The last years of Mr. Tyler's administration 
were devoted to the effort to secure the annexation 




'^^^^^^^^.- 



JcHN TYL'ER. 



of the republic of Texas to the United States. The 
territory embraced within the limits of Texas con- 
stituted a part of the Spanish-American possessions, 
and was generally regarded as a part of Mexico. 

In April, 1844, Texas formally applied for ad- 
mission into the United States, and a treaty for 
that purpose was negotiated with her by the gov- 



66 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

ernment of this country. It was rejected by the 
Senate. 

In the fall of 1844 the presidential election took 
place. The leading political question of the day 
was the annexation of Texas. It was advocated 
by the administration of President Tyler and by 
the Democratic party. Tliis party also made the 
claim of the United States to Oregon one of the 
leading issues of the campaign. Its candidates 
were James K. Polk, of Tennessee, and George M. 
Dallas, of Pennsylvania. The Whig party sup- 
ported Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and Theodore 
Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey^ and opposed the 
annexation of Texas. 

During this campaign, which was one of unusual 
excitement, the Anti-slavery party made its appear- 
ance for the first time as a distinct political organ- 
ization, and nominated James G. Birney as it» 
candidate for the Presidency. 

The result of the campaign was a decisive vic- 
tory for the Democrats. This success was gen- 
erally regarded as an emphaticexpression of the pop- 
ular will respecting the Texas and Oregon questions. 

The result of the election by the colleges was: 
170 electoral votes for James K. Polk, for Presi- 
dent, and 170 for George M. Dallas, for Vice-Presi- 
dent ; 105 for Henry Clay, for President, and 105 
for Theodore Frelingliuysen, lor Vice-President. 
By States the vote stood : 15 for the Democratic 
ticket, and 11 for the Whig ticket. Mr. Birney 



FACTS ABOrjT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 57 

received no electoral vote; but local returns 
showed that, out of the popular vote of upwards 
of two and a half millions, there were polled for 
him only 64,653. The fifteen States that voted 
for Mr. Polk were : Maine, New Hampshire, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, 
Georgia. Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, 
Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and Michigan; the 
eleven that voted for Mr. Clay were : Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New 
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. 

After the expiration of his term of office, Mr. 
Tyler retired from the seat of Government to his 
residence in Virginia. His administration was a 
stormy one, but signalized by many important 
events. It was during this period that the electro- 
telegraphic system was established by Morse. A 
room was furnished him at the Capitol for his ex- 
perimental operations in extending his wires to 
Baltimore ; and among the first messages ever 
transmitted over them was the announcement of 
the nomination of Mr. Polk for the Presidency. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 

4th of March, 1845-~4th of March, 1849. 

James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the 
United States, was inaugurated on the 4th of 
March, 1845, in the 50th year of his age. The 
oath of office was administered by Chief-Justice 



58 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



Taney, in the presence of a large assemblage of 
citizens. In bis inaugural, the new President 
spoke favorably of the late action of Congress in 
relation to Texas, and asserted that the title of the 
United States to the whole of Oregon was clear 
and indisputable, and intimated his intention to 
maintain it by force if necessary. 




JAMES K. POLK. 



The new cabinet consisted of James Buchanan, 
of Pennsylvania, Secretary of State; Robert J. 
Walker, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treasury; 
William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of 
Wnr; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Secre- 
tary of the Navy; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 59 

Postmaster-General ; and John Y. Mason, of Vir- 
ginia, Attorney-General. 

President Polk had served the country as gov- 
ernor of the State of Tennessee, and for fourteen 
years had been a member of Congress from that 
State, and had been chosen speaker of that body. 
Two important questions presented themselves to 
the new administration for settlement : the troubles 
with Mexico growing out of the annexation of 
Texas, and the arrangement of the northwestern 
boundary of the United States. 

During the Presidential campaign of 1844 the 
Democratic party adopted as its watchword, " all 
of Oregon or none," and the excitement upon the 
question ran high. The election of Mr. Polk 
showed that the American people were resolved to 
insist upon their claim to Oregon, and when the 
new President in his inaugural address took the 
bold ground that the American title to " Oregon 
territory " '' was clear and indisputable," and de- 
clared his intention to maintain it at the cost of 
war with England, the matter assumed a serious 
aspect, and for a while it seemed that party pas- 
sion would involve the two countries in hostilities. 
President Polk, upon a calmer consideration of the 
subject, caused the secretary of state to reopen the 
negotiations by proposing to Great Britain the 
forty-ninth parallel of latitude as a boundary, and 
that was finally agreed upon. 

During the fall of 1848 another Presidential 



60 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

election came off. The combined elements of 
opposition to the administration, in the main, 
continued to bear the name of Whigs, though the 
anti-slavery element now formed a distinct organi- 
zation known as '' Free-Soilers." The Democratic 
party held their General Convention at Baltimore, 
on the 22d of May, and put in nomination for the 
Presidency General Lewis Cass, of Michigan, and 
for the Vice-Presidency General William 0. Butler, 
of Kentucky. The Whigs held their Convention 
at Philadelphia on the 1st of June, and put in 
nomination for the Presidency General Zachary 
Taylor, of Louisiana, and for the Vice-Presidency 
Millard Fillmore, of New York. The Free-Soilers 
held their Convention at Buffalo, N. Y., on the 
8th of August, and put in nomination for the 
Presidency Martin Van Buren, of New York, and 
for the Vice-Presidency Charles -Francis Adams, 
of Massachusetts. 

The result of the election was 163 electoral 
votes for the Whig ticket and 127 for the Demo- 
cratic. The Free-Soil ticket received no electoral 
vote ; but local returns showed that out of a popu- 
lar vote of nearly 3,000,000, there were polled for 
it nearly 300,000 votes. The vote for Taylor and 
Fillmore by States stood 15; and for Cass and 
Butler 15 also. The 15 States that voted for 
Taylor and Fillmore were Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 61 

Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, 
and Florida ; the 15 that voted for Cass and Butler 
were Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, South 
Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Ala- 
bama, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas, Iowa, 
and Wisconsin. Taylor and Fillmore, having 
received a majority of the electoral votes, were 
declared elected to the offices of President and 
Vice-President. 

On the 4th of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired to 
his home in Tennessee. His administration had 
been a stormy one. It will, however, always be 
distinguished in history by its eminently wise 
financial and revenue policy, the settlement of the 
Oregon question with England, and the immense 
acquisition of territory from Mexico. During its 
period also, great lustre was added to the military 
renown of the United States. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF 
TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 

4th of March, 1849— 4th of March, 1853 

The 4th of March, 1849, coming on Sunday 
General Taylor was duly inaugurated as the 
twelfth President of the United States on the next 
day, Monday, the 5th of that month, in the 65th 
year of his age. The oath of office was adminis- 
tered by Chief-Justice Taney, in the presence of an 
inxmense concourse of people. 

The new President was a native of Virginia, 




ZACHARY TAYLOK, 



(631) 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 63 

but had removed with his parents to Kentucky at 
an early age, and had grown up to manhood on the 
frontiers of that State. In 1808, at the age of 
twenty-four, he was commissioned a lieutenant in 
the army by President Jefferson, and had spent 
forty years in the military service of the country. 
His exploits in the Florida war and brilliant vic- 
tories in Mexico had made him the most popular 
man in the United States, and had won him the 
high office of the Presidency at the hands of his 
grateful fellow-citizens. He was without political 
experience, but he was a man of pure and stain- 
less integrity, of great firmness, a sincere patriot, 
and possessed of strong good sense. He had re- 
ceived a majority of the electoral votes of both the 
Northern and Southern States, and was free from 
party or sectional ties of any kind. His inaugural 
address was brief, and was confined to a statement 
of general principles. His cabinet was composed 
of the leaders of the Whig party, with John M. 
Clayton, of Delaware, as Secretary of State. The 
last Congress had created a new executive depart- 
ment — that of the interior — to relieve the secre- 
tary of the treasury of a part of his duties, and 
President Taylor was called upon to appoint the 
first secretarv of the interior, which he did in the 
person of Thomas Ewing, of Ohio. The new de- 
parbnent was charged with the management of the 
public lands, the Indian tribes, and the issuing of 
patents to inventors. 



64 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Since the announcement of the Wilmot Proviso, 
the agitation of the slavery question had been in- 
cessant, and had increased instead of diminishing 
with each succeeding year. It was one of the chief 
topics of discussion in the newspaper press of the 
country, and entered largely into every political 
controversy, however local or insignificant in ita 
nature. The opponents of slavery regarded the 
annexation of Texas and the Mexican war as 
efforts to extend that institution, and were resolved 
to put an end to its existence at any cost. The 
advocates of slavery claimed that the Southern 
States had an equal right to the common property 
of the States, and were entitled to protection for 
their slaves in any of the Territories then owned 
by the States or that might afterwards be acquired 
by them. The Missouri Compromise forbade the 
existence of slavery north of the line of 36° SCK 
north latitude, and left the inhabitants south of 
til at line free to decide upon their own institutions. 
The Anti-slavery party was resolved that slavery 
should be excluded from the territory acquired 
from Mexico, and in the Wilmot Proviso struck 
their first blow for the accomplishment of this pur- 
pose. 

Upon the organization of the House President 
Taylor sent in his first and only message. He re- 
cognized the danger with whicli the sectional con- 
troversy^ threatened the country, expressed hia 
views of the situation in moderate terms, and inti- 




MILLARD FILLMORE. 



f(Vc>y 



C6 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

mated that he should faithfully discharge his 
duties to the whole country. 

About the last of June, 1850, President Taylor 
was stricken down with a fever, which soon ter- 
minated fatally. He died on the 9th of July amid 
the grief of the whole country, which felt that it 
had lost a faithful and upright chief magistrate. 
Though the successful candidate of one political 
party, his administration had received the earnest 
support of the best men of the country without 
regard to partj^, and his death was a national 
calamity. He had held office only sixteen months^ 
but had show^n himself equal to his difficult and 
delicate position. 

By the terms of the Constitution the office of 
President devolved upon Millard Fillmore, Vice- 
President of the United States. On the 10th of 
July he took the oath of office, and at once entered 
upon the duties of his new position. 

Mr. Fillmore was a native of New York, and 
was born in that State in the year 1800. He had 
served his State in Congress, and as governor, and 
was personally one of the most popular of the 
Presidents. The cabinet of General Taylor re- 
signed their offices immediately after his death, 
and the new President filled their places by ap- 
pointing a new cabinet with Daniel Webster at its 
head as Secretary of State. 

On the 4th of July, 1851, the corner-stone of 
\lie two new wings of the capitol was laid. Mr. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 67 

Webster delivered a speech on the occasion which 
was considered one of the greatest of his life. It 
was delivered to an immense audience, on a plat- 
form erected on the east side of the capitol. In it, 
among other things, he said : 

"If it shall hereafter be the will of God that 
this structure shall fall from its base — that its 
foundations shall be upturned, and the deposit be- 
neath this stone be brought to the eyes of men — 
be it then known that on this day the Union of the 
United States of America stands firm, that this 
Constitution still exists unimpaired, and, with all 
its usefulness and glory, is growing every day 
stronger in the affections of the great body of the 
American people, and attracting more and more 
the admiration of the w^orld." 

During the fall of this year (1852) another 
Presidential election took place. 

The Democratic party nominated Franklin 
Pierce, of New Hampshire, for President, and Wil- 
liam R. King, of Alabama, for Vice-President. 
The Whig party nominated General Winfield Scott 
for President, and William A. Graham, of North 
Carolina, for Vice-President. The Anti-slavery 
party put in nomination John P. Hale, of New 
Hampshire, and George W. Julian, of Indiana. 
The election resulted in the choice of the candi- 
dates of the Democratic party by an overwhelming 
majority. 

Mr. King, the Vice-President elect, did not long 



68 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

survive his triumph. His health had been deli- 
cate for many years, and he was obhged to pnss the 
winter succeeding the election in Cuba. Being 
unable to return home, he took the oath of office 
before the American consul, at Havana, on the 4th 
of March. He then returned to the United States, 
and died at his home in Alabama on the ISth of 
April, 1853. 

The result of the election was : 251 electoral 
votes for Pierce and King ; and 42 for Scott and 
Graham ; by States, 27 for Pierce and King, and 
4 for Scott and Graham. The States which voted 
for General Scott were: Massachusetts, Vermont, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee. The anti-slavery ticket 
received no electoral vote, but out of the popular 
vote of nearly 3,500,000, it polled 155,825 indi- 
vidual votes, being little over half of what it polled 
at the previous election. 

In October, 1852, the whole country was again 
thrown into mourning by the announcement of the 
death of Mr. Webster, the last survivor of the great 
senatorial "trio," Clay, Calhoun and Webster. 

They were regarded as the three greatest states- 
men of the country in their day. They Avere all 
men of very great ability, of very different charac- 
ters of mind, as well as styles of oratory. They 
differed also widely on many questions of public 
policy. But they were all true patriots in tho 
' highest sense of that term. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



C9 



ADMINISTRATION OF PIERCE. 
4th of March, 1853— 4th of March, 1857. 

On the 4th of March, 1853, Franklin Pierce, of 
New Hampshire, the fourteenth President of the 
United States, \Yas duly inaugurated in the 49th 




FRANKLIN PIERCE. 



year of his ago. Tiie oath of office was adminis- 
tered by Chief-Justice Taney. 

General Pierce was an accomplished orator, and 
his inaugural address was delivered in his happiest 
style, in a tone of voice that was distinctly heard 
at a great distance. It was responded to by shouts 
from the surrounding multitudes. 



70 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

The most important measure of Mr. Pierce's ad- 
ministration was the bill to organize the Territories 
of Kansas and Nebraska. The region embraced 
in these Territories formed a part of the Louisiana 
purchase, and extended from the borders of Mis- 
souri, Iowa, and Minnesota to the summit of the 
Rocky mountains, and from the parallel of 36° 30' 
north latitude to the border of British America. 
This whole region by the terms of the Missouri 
Compromise had been secured to free labor by the 
exclusion of slavery. 

The people engaged warmly in the discussion 
aroused by the reopening of the question of slavery 
in the Territories. The North resented the repeal of 
the Missouri Compromise, and in the South a large 
and respectable party sincerely regretted the repeal 
of that settlement. By the passage of the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill the Thirty-third Congress assumed 
a grave responsibility, and opened the door to a 
bloody and bitter conflict in the Territories between 
slavery and free labor. The troubles in Kansas 
which followed gave rise to a new party which 
called itself Republican, and which was based 
upon an avow^ed hostility to the extension of 
slavery. A third party, called the American, or 
Know Nothing, also took part in the Presidential 
campaign of 1856, and was based upon the doctrine 
that the political offices of the country should be 
held only by persons of American birth. The 
Democratic party nominated James Buchanan, of 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 71 

Pennsylvania, for the Presidency, and John C. 
Breckinridge, of Kentucky, for the Vice-Presidency. 
The Republican nominee for the Presidency was 
John C. Fremont, of California; for the Vice- 
Presidency William L. Dayton, of New Jersey. 
The American or Know Nothing party supported 
Millard Fillmore, of New York, for the Presidency, 
and Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, for the 
Vice- Presidency. The Whig party had been 
broken to pieces by its defeat in 1852, and had 
now entirely disappeared. 

The canvass v/as unusually excited. Slavery 
was the principal question in dispute. Party ties 
had little influence upon men. The sentiment of 
the nation at large had been outraged by the re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise, and thousands 
of Democrats, desiring to rebuke their party for its 
course in bringing about this repeal, united with 
the Republican party, which declared as its lead- 
ing principle that it was " both the right and the 
duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories 
those twin relics of barbarism — polygamy and 
slavery." 

The elections resulted in the triumph of James 
Buchanan, the candidate of the Democratic party. 
Mr. Buchanan received 174 electoral votes ; Gen- 
eral Fremont 1.14, and Fillmore 8. The vote bj 
States was: 19 for the Democratic ticket; 11 for 
the Republican, and 1 for the American. The 
nineteen States that voted for Mr. Buchanan were: 



72 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, 
Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, 
Texas, and California. The eleven that voted for 
Fremont were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, 
New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin^ 
The one that voted fjr Fillmore was Maryland. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

March 4th, 1857— March 4th, 18G1. 

James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, the fifteenth 
President of the United States, was inaugurated 
on the 4th of March, 1857, in the 66th year of 
his age, and was a statesman of ripe experience. 
The oath of office was administered by Chief- 
Justice Taney. His inaugural was conciliatory, 
and approbatory of the principles of the Kansas 
and Nebraska bill upon which he had been elected. 
He was born in Pennsylvania, in 17D1, and was 
by profession a law3'er. He had served his State 
in Congress as a representative and a senator, had 
been minister to Russia under President Jackson, 
and had been a member of the Cabinet of Presi- 
dent Polk, as Secretary of State. During the four 
years previous to his election to the Presidency, 
lie had resided abroad as the Minister of the 
United States to Great Britain, and in that capao- 




JAMES cuciiaxa:^. 



(73) 



74 PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

it J had greatly added to his reputation as a states- 
man. The intense sectional feeling which the dis- 
cussion of the slavery question had aroused had 
alarmed patriotic men in all parts of the Union, 
and it was earnestly hoped that Mr. Buchanan's 
administration would be able to effect a peaceful 
settlement of the quarrel. Mr. Buchanan selected 
his Cabinet from the leading men of the Democratic 
party. Lewis Cass, of Michigan, was appointed 
Secretary of State ; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury ; John B. Floyd, of Vir- 
ginia, Secretary of War; Isaac Toucey, of Connec- 
ticut, Secretary of the Nav}^; Jacob Thompson, of 
Mississippi, Secretary of Interior; Aaron V. Brown, 
of Tennessee, Postmaster-General, and Jeremiah S. 
Black, of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General. The 
two .leading subjects which immediately engaged 
the attention of the new administration were 
the state of affairs in Utah on the one hand, and 
Kansas on the other. 

On the night of the 16th of October, 1859, John 
Brown, wlio had acquired a considerable notoriety 
as the leader of a Free Soil company during the 
war in Kansas, entered the State of Virginia, at 
Harper's Ferry, with a party of twenty-one men, 
and seized the United States arsenal at that place. 
He then sent out parties to induce the negro slaves 
to join him, his avowed object being to put an end 
to slavery in Virginia hy exciting an insurrection 
of the slaves. Several citizens were kidnapped by 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 75 

these parties, but the slaves refused to join Brown, 
or to take any part in the insurrection. 

The effect of Brown's attempt upon the South- 
ern people was most unfortunate. They regarded 
it as unanswerable evidence of the intention of the 
people of the North to make war upon them under 
the cover of the Union. The John Brown raid 
was the most powerful argument that had ever 
been placed in the hands of the disunionists, and 
in the alarm and excitement produced by that 
event, the Southern people lost sight of the fact 
that the great mass of the Northern people sin- 
cerely deplored and condemned the action of 
Brown and his supporters. 

While the excitement was at its height the 
Presidential campaign opened in the spring of 
1860. The slavery question was the chief issue 
in this struggle. The Convention of the Democra- 
tic party met at Charleston, in April, but being 
unable to effect an organization, adjourned to Bal- 
timore, and reassembled in that city in June. The 
extreme Southern delegates were resolved that the 
convention should be committed to the protection 
of slavery in the Territories by Congress, and fail- 
ing to control it withdrew from it in a body, and 
organized a separate convention, which they de- 
clared represented the Democratic party, but which, 
in reality, as the vote subsequently proved, repre- 
sented but a minority of that party. 

The original convention, after the withdrawal 



76 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

of these delegates, nominated for the Presidency 
Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, and for the Vice* 
Presidency Ilerschell V. Johnson, of Georgia. It 
then proceeded to adopt the platform put forward 
by the entire party four years before, at Cincinnati, 
upon the nomination of Mr. Buchanan, with this 
additional declaration : " That as differences of 
opinion exist in the Democratic party as to the 
nature and extent of the powers of a territorial 
legishxture, and as to the powers and duties of Con- 
gress under the Constitution of the United States 
over the institution of slavery within the Territo- 
ries, . . . the party will abide by the decisions of 
the Supreme Court of the United States on the 
questions of constitutional law." 

The " Seceders Convention," as it was commonly 
called, also adopted the Cincinnati platform, and 
pledged themselves to non-interference by Congress 
with slavery in the Territories or in the District of 
Columbia. This party held to the doctrine that 
the Constitution recognized slavery as existing in 
the Territories, and sanctioned and protected it 
there, and that neither Congress nor the people of 
the Territories could frame any law against 
slavery until the admission of such Territories 
into the Union as States. The *' Seceders' Con- 
vention" put forward as its candidate for the Pres- 
idency John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and 
f>ir the Vice-Presidency Joseph Lane, of Oregon. 

The Republican party took issue with both wings 



FACTS ABOUV ALL 07JR PRESIDENTS. 77 

of the Democratic party. Its convention was held 
at Chicago, Illinois, and its candidates were, for 
President, Abraham Lincohi, of IHinois, and for 
Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. The 
platform of principles adopted by the Republican 
Convention declared that ''the maintenance of the 
principles promulgated in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and embodied in the federal Constitution 
is essential to the preservation of our republican 
institutions. . . . That all men are created equal; 
that they are endowed by their Creator with cer- 
tain inalienable rights." 

A fourth party, known as the "American or 
Constitutional Union Party," proclaimed as its 
platform the following vague sentence : " The con- 
stitution of the country, the union of the States, 
and the enforcement of the laws." The convention 
of this party met .at Baltimore, and nominated for 
the Presidency John Bell, of Tennessee, and for 
the Vice-Presidency Edward Everett, of Massachu- 
setts. 

Tlic contest between these parties was bitter 
beyond all precedent, and resulted as follows: 

Popular vote for Lincoln, . 1,866452 

" '' Douglas, . 1,375,157 

" " Breckinridge, 847,953 

« « Bell, . . 590,631 

The electoral vote stood as follows: For Lincoln, 
180; for Breckinridge, 72; for Bell, 39; for 
Douglas, 12. 



78 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Mr. Lincoln was thus elected by a plurality ol 
the popular vote, which secured for him the elec- 
toral votes of eighteen States. Tiiese States w^ere 
entirely north of the sectional line, and he received 
not a single electoral vote from a Southern State. 
The States which cast their electoral votes for 
Breckinridge, Bell, and Douglas, w^ere entirely 
slaveholding. The division thus made was alarm- 
ing. It was the* first time in the history of the 
republic that a President had been elected by the 
votes of a single section of the Union. 

The eighteen States that voted for Mr. Lincoln, 
under the plurality count of the popular vote, 
were : Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, 
and Oregon. The eleven that voted for Mr. 
Breckinridge were : Delaware, Maryland, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. 
The three that so voted for Mr. Bell were : Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee ; and the one that 
BO voted for Mr. Douglas was Missouri. Mr. Lin- 
coln did not receive the majority of the popular 
vote in but sixteen of the thirty-three States then 
constituting the Union ; so he had been constitu- 
tionally elected, without having received a majority 
oiwthe popular vote of the States or of the people. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 7S 



ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 
March 4th, 1861— April 15th, 1865. 

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of 
the United States, was inaugurated at Washington 
on the 4th of March, 1861. As it was feared 
that an attempt would be made to prevent the in- 
auguration, the city was held by a strong body of 
regular troops, under General Scott, and the Presi- 
dent elect was escorted from his hotel to the capitol 
by a miUtary force. No effort was made to inter- 
fere with the ceremonies, and the inauguration 
passed off quietly. 

The new President was in his fifty-third year, 
and was a native of Kentucky. When he was but 
eight years old his father removed to Indiana, and 
the boyhood of the future President was spent in 
hard labor upon the farm. Until he reached man- 
hood he continued to lead this life, and during this 
entire period attended school for only a year. At 
the age of twenty -one he removed to Illinois, 
where he began life as a storekeeper. Being anx- 
ious to rise above his humble position, he deter- 
mined to study law. He was too poor to buy the 
necessary books, and so borrowed them from a 
neighboring lawyer, read them at night, and re- 
turned them in the morning. His genial character, 
great good nature, and love of humor, won him 



80 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



the friendsliip of the people among whom he re- 
sided, and they elected him to the lower house of 
the legislature of Illinois. He now abandoned his 
mercantile pursuits, and began the practice of the 
law, and was subsequently elected a representative 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



to Congress from the Springfield district. He took 
an active part in the politics of his State, and in 
1858 was the candidate of the Republican party 
for United States senator. In this capacity he en- 
gaged in a series of debates in various parts of the 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 81 

State with Senator Douglas, the Democratic can- 
didate for re-election to the same position. This 
debate was remarkable for its brilliancy and intel- 
lectual vigor, and brought him prominently before 
the whole country, and opened the way to his 
nomination for the Presidency. In person he was 
tall and ungainly, and in manner he was rough and 
awkward, little versed in the refinements of so- 
ciety. He was a man, however, of great natural 
vigor of intellect, and was possessed of a fund of 
strong common sense, which enabled him to see at 
a glance through the shams by which he was sur- 
rounded, and to pursue his own aims with single- 
ness of heart and directness of purpose. He had 
sprung from the ranks of the people, and he was 
never false to them. He was a simple, unaffected, 
kind-hearted man ; anxious to do his duty to the 
whole country ; domestic in his tastes and habits ; 
and incorruptible in every relation of life. He 
was fond of humor, and overflowed with it; find- 
ing in his '' little stories " the only relaxation he 
ever sought from the heavy cares of the trying 
position upon which he was now entering. He 
selected his cabinet from the leading men of the 
Republican party, and placed William H. Seward, 
of New York, as Secretary of State ; Salmon P. 
Chase, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; Simon 
Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; 
Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of the 

Navy ; Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, Secretary of the 
6 



82 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Interior; Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, Post 
master-General; and Edward Bates, of Missouri, 
Attornev-General. 

The Great Civil War was the all-important 
event of Mr. Lincoln's administration. 

In 1864 the next Presidential election was held. 
The Republican National Convention met at Bal- 
timore, June^T, and adopted a platform declaring 
war upon slavery, and demanding that no terms 
but unconditional surrender should be given to the 
rebellious States. It nominated Abraham Lincoln, 
of Illinois, for President, and Andrew Johnson, of 
Tennessee, for Vice-President. 

The latter was a United States Senator when 
his State allied itself to the Confederacy. He, 
however, continued to hold his seat, and was the 
only Senator from any of the States, who did so 
after the withdrawal of their States from the 
Federal Union. 

The Democratic Convention met at Chicago Au- 
gust 29, and nominated for the Presidency General 
George B. McClellan, of the Federal army, and for 
the Vice-Presidency, George H. Pendleton, of 
Ohio. The result was Messrs. Lincoln and John- 
son carried the electoral votes of every State ex- 
cept three, to wit : New Jersey, Delaware, and 
Kentucky; of the popular vote the Democratic 
ticket received 1,802.237, against 2,213,665 cajst 
for Lincoln and Johnson. 

Abraham Lincoln having been duly elected was 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 85 

inaugurated for his second term on the 4th of 
March, 1865. On the night of April 14th, Presi 
dent Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre, 
iu Washington City, by John Wilkes Booth. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 
15th of April, 1SC5— 4th of March, 1869. 

Upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew John- 
eon, the Vice-President, by the terms of the Con- 
stitution, became President of the United States. 
He took the oath of office on the 15th of April, 
and at once entered upon the discharge of his 
duties. His first act was to retain all the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet appointed by Mr. Lincoln. 

Mr. Johnson was a native of North Carolina, 
having been born in Raleigh, on the 29th of De- 
cember, 1808. At the age often he was bound aa 
an apprentice to a tailor of that city. He was at 
this time unable to read or write. Some yeara 
later, being determined to acquire an education, 
he learned the alphabet from a fellow-workman, 
and a friend taught him spelling. He was soon 
able to read, and pursued his studies steadily, 
working ten or twelve, hours a day at his trade^ 
and studying two or three more. In 1826 he re- 
moved to Greenville, Tennessee. He wa^ subse- 
quently chosen alderman of his town, and with 
this election entered upon his political career. 
Studying law he abandoned tailoring, and devoted 
himself to legal pursuits and politics. He was 




ANDREW JOHNSON. 



fW) 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 85 

successively chosen Mayor, Member of the Legisla- 
ture, Presidential elector, and State Senator. He 
was twice elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
three times a Senator of the United States from 
that State. Upon the secession of Tennessee from 
the Union, he refused to relinquish his seat in the 
Senate, and remained faithful to the cause of the 
Union throughout the war, winning considerable 
reputation during the struggle by his services in 
behalf of the national cause. He was an earnest, 
honest-hearted man, who sincerely desired to do 
his duty to the country. His mistakes were due 
to his temperament, and proceeded from no desire 
to serve his own interests or those of any party. 
In his public life he was incorruptible. A man of 
ardent nature, strong convictions, and indomitable 
will, it was not possible that he should avoid 
errors, or fail to stir up a warm and determined 
opposition to his policy. 

The first duty devolving upon the new adminis- 
tration was the disbanding of the army, which at 
the close of the war numbered over a million of 
men. It was prophesied by foreign nations and 
feared by many persons at home, that the sudden 
return of such a large body of men to the pursuits 
of civil life would be attended with serious evils, 
but both the Union and the Confederate soldiers 
went back quietly and readily to their old avocar 
tions. Thus did these citizen-soldiers give to the 
world a splendid exhibition of the triumph of law 



86 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

and order in a free country, and a proof of the 
Btability of our institutions. 

The restoration of the Southern States to their 
places in the Union was the most important work 
of Mr. Johnson's administration. 

In the ftill of 1868 another Presidential election 
was held. The Republican party nominated Gen- 
eral Ulysses S. Grant for the Presidency, and 
Schuyler Colfiix, of Indiana, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The Democratic party nominated Horatio 
Seymour, of New York, for the Presidency, and 
Frank P. Blair, of Missouri, for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. The election resulted in the choice of 
General Grant by a jDopular vote of 2,985,031 to 
2,648,830 votes cast for Mr. Sejmiour. In tho 
electoral college Grant received 217 votes and 
Seymour 77. The States of Virginia, Mississippi 
and Texas were not allowed to take part in this 
election, being still out of the Union. 

ADMINISTRATION OP ULYSSES S. 
GRANT. 

4th of March, 1869-— 4th of March, 1877. 

Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth President of 
the United States, w\as inaugurated at Washington 
with imposing ceremonies on the 4th of March, 
1869. He was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, on 
the 27th of April, 1822. His father was a tanner, 
and wished him to follow his trade, but the boy 
had more ambitious hopes, and at the age of seven- 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



87 



teen a friend secured for him an appointment as 
a cadet at West Point, ^Yhere he was educated. 
Upon graduating he entered the army. Two 
years later he was sent to Mexico, and served 
tiirough the war with that country with distinc- 




ULYSSES S. GRAI4T. 



tion. He was specially noticed by his comman- 
ders, and was promoted for gallant conduct. Soon 
after the close of the war he resigned his commis- 
Bion, and remained in civil life and obscurity until 
the breakim? out of the civil war, when he volun- 



B8 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

teered his services, and was commissioned by 
Governor Yates Colonel of the Twenty-first lUi- 
nois regiment. He was soon made a Brigadier- 
General, and fought his first battle at Belmont. 
His subsequent career has been related in all his- 
tories of the Great Civil War. He selected the 
members of his Cabinet more because of his per- 
sonal friendship for them than for their weight 
and influence in the party that had elected him. 

General Grant was the fifth President whose 
military achievements had contributed more to his 
election to this high office than any services ren- 
dered in the civil departments of the government. 
His inaugural, delivered before an immense crowd 
of enthusiastic admirers, on the east portico of the 
capitol, was brief and pointed. He was no orator, 
and his address on tliis occasion was rehearsed 
from a manuscript before him. It might be char- 
acterized as a good speciinen of the " midtum in 
'parvoJ' He said '' he shduld have no policy of his 
own, except to carry out the will of the people, as 
expressed by the legislative department, and ex- 
pounded by the judiciary. Laws," said he, "are 
to govern all alike, those opposed, as well as those 
who favor them. I know of no method to secure 
the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as 
their stringent execution." The oath of office was 
administered by Chief-Justice Chase. 

His cabinet consisted at first of Elihu B. Wash- 
burne, of Illinois, Secretary of State ; Alexander 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 89 

T. Stewart, of New York, Secretary of the 
Treasury; John D. Rawlins, of Illinois, who had 
been his chief of staff from the beginning of the 
great war until its termination. Secretary of War; 
Adolph E. Borie, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of 
the Navy ; Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, Secretary of 
the Interior; John A. J. Cress well, of Maryland, 
Postmaster-General ; and Ebenezer R. Hoar, of 
Massachusetts, Attorney-General. 

Several changes in the cabinet were afterwards 
made, the most notable of which were George S. 
Boutwell, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the 
Treasury, instead of Alexander T. Stewart, the 
famous merchant of New York. Soon after the 
confirmation of the latter by the Senate, it was 
ascertained that he was ineligible under the law, 
because of his being engaged in commerce. Mr. 
Washburne also gave up his place to accept the 
position of Minister to France, and the vacant 
Secretaryship of the State Department was given 
to Hamilton Fish of New York. 

The President on the 20th of March, 1870, issued 
a proclamation announcing that the Fifteenth 
Amendment had been duly ratified by a sufficient 
number of States, and therefore declared it to be 
part of the Constitution of the United States. 

In the fall of 1872, another presidential election 
occurred. The canvass was marked by the most 
intense partisan bitterness. The Republican party 
renominated General Grant for the presidency, and 



90 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

supported Henry Wilson for the vice-presidencj. 
The measures of the administration had arrayed a 
large number of Republicans against it. These 
now organized themselves as the Liberal Republican 
party, and nominated Horace Greeley of New York 
for the presidency, and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri 
for the vice-presidency. The Democratic party 
made no nomhiations, and its convention indorsed 
the candidates of the Liberal Republican party. 
The election resulted in the triumph of the 
Republican candidates by overwhelming majorities. 
The elections were scarcely over when the 
country was saddened by the death of Horace 
Greeley. He had been one of the founders of the 
Republican part}*, and had been closely identified 
with the political history of the country for over 
thirty years. He was the "Founder of the New 
York Tribime,'' and had done good service with his 
journal in behalf of the cause he believed to be 
founded in right. He was a man of simple and 
childlike character, utterly unaffected, and generous 
to a fault. In his manner and dress he was eccen- 
tric, but nature had made him a true gentleman at 
heart. His intellectual ability was conceded by all. 
His experience in public life and his natural dis- 
position induced him to favor a policy of concilia- 
tion in the settlement of the reconstruction ques- 
tion, and, influenced by these convictions, he signed 
the bail-bond of Jeflerson Davis and secured the 
release of the fallen leader of the South from his 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 91 

imprisonment. This act cost him a large part of 
bis popularity in the North. He accepted the 
presidential nomination of the Liheral party in the 
belief that his election would aid in bringing about 
a better state of feeling between the North and the 
South. He was attacked by his political opponents 
with a bitterness which caused him much suffering, 
and many of his old friends deserted him and 
joined in the warfare upon him. Just before the 
close of the canvass, his wife, to whom he was 
tenderly attached, died, and his grief for her and 
the excitement caused by the political contest 
broke him down and unsettled his mind. Ho was 
conveyed by his friends to a private asylum, where 
he died on the 29th of November, 1872, in the 
gixty-second year of his age. The result of the 
election by States w'as 286 electoral votes for Grant, 
for President, 286 for Wilson, for Vice-President, 
and 47 for B. Gratz Brown, for Vice-President. 

Mr. Greeley having died soon after the election, 
and before the meeting of the Electoral Colleges, 
the electoral votes that he carried at the popular 
election (only 65) were cast in the colleges for a 
number of persons whose names had never been 
connected with the office. 

The votes by States for Grant were Alabama, 
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Mississippi, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ne- 
vada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New 



92 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
Khode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia, Vir- 
ginia, Vermont, Wisconsin — 29. Those casting 
electoral votes against Grant were Maryland, 
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and 
.Texas — 6. The electoral votes of the States of 
Arkansas and Louisiana were not counted. 

On the 4th day of July, 1876, the United States 
of America completed the one hundredth year of 
their existence as an independent nation. The 
day was celebrated with imposing ceremonies and 
with the most patriotic enthusiasm in all parts of 
.the Union. The celebrations began on the night 
of the 3d of July, and were kept up until midnight 
on the 4th. Each of the great cities of the Union 
vied with the others in the splendor and complete- 
ness of its rejoicings ; but the most interesting of 
all the celebrations was naturally that which was 
held at Philadelphia, in which city the Declaration 
of Independence was adopted. 

In the summer of 1876 the various political par- 
ties met in their respective conventions to nomi- 
nate candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presi- 
dency of the United States, which officers were to 
be chosen at the general election in November. 
The Kepublican Convention assembled at Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, on the 14 th of June, and resulted in 
the nomination of Governor Rutherford B. Hayes, 
of Ohio, for President of the United States, and 
of William A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice* 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDEISTS. 93 

President. The Democratic Convention was held 
at St. Louis on the 27th of June, and nominated 
Governor Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, for the 
Presidency, and Governor Thomas A. Hendricks, of 
Indiana, lor the Vice-Presidency. A third Conven- 
tion, representing the Independent Greenback party, 
met at IndianapoUs on the 18th of May, and nomi* 
nated Peter Cooper, of New York, for President, 
and Samuel F. Gary, of Ohio, for Vice-President. 

The campaign which followed these nominations 
was one of intense bitterness, and was in many 
respects the most remarkable the country has ever 
witnessed. 

The election was held on the 7th of November. 
The popular vote was as follows : 

For SanuielJ. Tilden 4,284,265 

" Rutherford B. Hayes 4,033,295 

" Peter Cooper 81,737 

Tilden thus received a popular majority of 
250,970 votes over Hayes, and a majority of 169,- 
233 votes over both Hayes and Cooper. 

Both sides claimed the success of their tickets. 
In several of the States there were two returns. 
Three hundred and sixty-nine was the aggregate 
number of votes of the electoral college. It re- 
quired 185 to elect. The advocates of Tilden and 
Hendricks maintained that by right they were en- 
titled to the electoral votes of South Carolina, 
Florida, and Louisiana, which would give them an 



04 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUB PRESIDENTS. 

aggregate of 203 votes ; but that if the votes of 
these three States, amounting to 19, were given to 
Hayes and Wheeler, Tilden and Hendricks would 
still have 184 undisputed votes, and that they were 
clearly entitled to one vote from Oregon, wdiich 
would give them 185 — the requisite majority. 
Meantime the Republican leaders maintained that 
upon a right count of the vote of the four States 
in dispute Hayes and Wheeler had the majority. 
Leading Republicans in Congress maintained that 
the presiding officer of the Senate had a right to 
count the votes as sent up from the several States, 
and to decide questions of dispute between differ- 
ent returning boards. The Democrats proposed 
that the matter should be settled and adjusted 
under the previously existing joint rule of the two 
Houses on the subject of counting the electoral 
votes. This the Republicans refused to do. The 
condition of affairs was assuming a threatening 
aspect, w'hen a proposition was made to provide by 
law for a Joint High Commission to whom the 
whole subject should be referred. This was to 
consist of five members of the House, five of the 
Senate, and five of the Supreme Court. The five 
.Judges of the Supreme Court were Clifford, Miller, 
Field, Strong, and Bradley ; the Senators were 
Edmunds, Morton, Frelinghuysen, Bayard, and 
Thurman ; the members of. the House were Payne, 
Hunton, Abbott, Garfield, and Hoar. 

To the commission thus constituted, the whole 
subject was referred by special act of Congress. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 95 

The two Houses of Congress met in joint con- 
vention on the 1st of Februiiry, 1877, and began 
the counting of the electoral vote. When tho 
vote of Florida was reached, three certificates were 
presented and were referred to the Electoral Com- 
mission. This body, upon hearing the arguments 
of the counsel of the Democratic and Republican 
parties, decided that it had no power to go behind 
the action of the Return Board, and that the cer- 
tificate of that body giving the vote of that State 
to Hayes must be accepted by the two Houses of 
Congress. The vote by which this decision waa 
reached stood eight (all Republicans) in favor of 
it, and seven (all Democrats) against it. A similar 
conclusion was come to in the case of Louisiana. 
Objections were made to the reception of the votes 
of Oreijon and South Carolina. In the Ore<::on 
case the decision was unanimously in favor of 
counting the votes of the Hayes electors. In tho 
South Carolina case the commission decided that 
the Democratic electors were not lawfully chosen ; 
but on the motion to give the State to Hayes the 
vote stood 8 yeas to 7 nays. So South Carolina 
was counted for Hayes. Objection was made on 
the ground of ineligibility to certain electors from 
Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
Vermont, and Wisconsin, but the objections were 
not sustained by the two Houses. 

This Commission made its final report on all tho 
cases submitted to them, on the 2d day of March, 



96 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

and according to their decision, Hayes and Wheeler 
received 185 votes, and Tilden and Hendricks 184 
votes. The States that voted for Hayes and 
Wheeler were California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, 
Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New 
Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Pennsyl- 
vania, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin ; 
and those which voted for Tilden and Hendricks 
were Alabama, Arkansas; Connecticut, Delaware, 
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, 
Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

General Grant, on the expiration of his second 
term, retired from office, but remained in Wash- 
ington City, receiving marked demonstrations of 
the admiration of his friends for some months, 
before starting upon an extensive travel through 
Europe and around the world. 

ADMINISTRATION OF RUTHERFORD B. 

HAYES. 

4th of March, 1877— 4th of Marqji, 1881. 

Rutherford B. Hayes, the nineteenth President of 
the United States, was inaugurated at Washington 
on Monday, March 5th, 1877. As the 4th of 
March fell on Sunday, the President-elect simply 
took the oath of office on that day. The inaugural 
ceremonies were carried aut on the 5th at the 




RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



(97) 



08 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

capitol with the usual pomp and parade, and in 
the presence of an enormous multitude of citizens 
and visiting military organizations from all parts 
of the country. After the customary reception by 
the Senate, the new President was escorted to the 
eastern portico of the capitol, where he delivered 
his inaugural address to the assembled multitude, 
after which the oath of office was publicly adminis- 
tered to him by Chief-Justice Waite. 

The new President was a native of- Ohio, having 
been born at Delaware, in that State, on the 4th 
of October, 1822. He graduated at Kenyon Col- 
lege, Ohio, and obtained his professional education 
at the law school, Cambridge, Mass. He began the 
practice of law at Cincinnati in 1856. Soon after 
the opening of the war he enlisted in the Twenty- 
third Ohio Volunteers, with which regiment he 
served as major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel. 
He led his regiment, w4iich formed a part of 
General Reno's division, at the battle of South 
Mountain, in September, 1862, and was severely 
wounded in the arm in that engagement. In the 
fall of 1862 he was made colonel of the regiment, 
and in 1864 w^as promoted to the rank of brigadier- 
general of volunteers, and was bre vetted major- 
general, "lor gallant and distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864 in West Virginia, 
and particuUirly in the battles of Fisher's Hill and 
Cedar Creek." At the time of this last promotion 
h<^ was in command of a division. He served 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 99 

until the close of the war, receiving four wounds 
and having five horses shot under him during his 
military career. In the fall of 1864 he was elected 
to Congress, and was returned a second time in 
1866. In 1867, before the expiration of his Con- 
gressional term, he was elected Governor of Ohio, 
and was re-elected to that office in 1869, being 
each time the candidate of the Republican party. 
In 1870 General Hayes was again elected to Con- 
gress, and in 1874 was nominated for a third term 
as Governor of Ohio. His opponent was Governor 
William Allen, one of the most popular of the 
Democratic leaders of Ohio. General Hayes was 
elected by a handsome majority. He resigned this 
office in March, 1877, to enter upon his new duties 
as President of the United States. 

President Hayes selected as his cabinet William 
M. Evarts, of New York, Secretary of State; 
John Sherman, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury ; 
George W. McCrary, of Iowa, Secretary of War; 
Richard Yi. Thompson, of Indiana, Secretary of 
the Navy ; Carl Schurz, of Missouri, Secretary of 
the Interior ; David M. Key, of Tennessee, Post- 
master-General ; and Charles E. Devens, of Massa- 
chusetts, Attorney-General. The cabinet was of a 
composite character and generally regarded as a very 
conservative one. Mr. Hayes, early in his admin- 
istration, adopted several reforms in the civil service, 
one of which was not to allow Federal office- 
holders to take active part in elections. 



100 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

Few Presidents were ever so embarrassed upon 
entering on the duties of the office as he was. At 
this time the States of South Carolina and Lou- 
isiana were in a quasi civil war. Two Governors 
in each were claiming to be entitled to the execu- 
tive chair. Two legislatures in each were also 
claiming to be rightfully entitled to the law-making 
power. 

Mr. Hayes displayed the most consummate skill 
in the conduct and settlement of these most em- 
barrassing questions. In the summer of 1880 the 
various political parties of the country met in Con- 
vention to nominate candidates for the Presidency 
and Vice-Presidency of the United States. The 
Republican Convention met in Chicago on the 2d 
of June, and nominated James A. Garfield, of Ohio, 
for President, and Chester A. Arthur, of New 
York, for Vice-President. (The platform and all 
the ballots of this convention will be found in 
another part of this work.) The Democratic Con- 
vention met in Cincinnati, on the 22d of June, and 
nominated Winfield Scott Hancock, of Pennsyl- 
vania, for President, and William H. English, of 
Indiana, for Vice-President. The Greenback Con- 
vention met at Chicauo, on the 9th of June, and 
nominated James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for Presi- 
dent, and B. J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice- 
President. 

The election was held on the 2d of November, 
and resulted in the choice, of General James A. 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 101 

Garfield, who received 214 electoral votes to 155 
electoral votes cast for General Hancock. 

The States that voted for Gartield and Arthur 
were : Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, 
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ver- 
mont, Wisconsin ; and those that voted for Han- 
cock and English were : Alabama, Arkansas, Del- 
aware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New 
Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. 

The State of California was divided. She cast 
one vote for Garfield and Arthur, and five for 
Hancock and English. . 

The last days of Mr. Hayes' administration were 
the happiest he spent in the White House. At 
the close of his term, he retired to his residence at 
Fremont, Ohio, followed by the good will of mil- 
lions of his fellow-citizens. 

ADMINISTRATION OF GARFIELD. 

4th of March, 1881— 19th of September, 1881. 

On Friday, March 4th, 1881, the inauguration 
ceremonies took place upon a scale of unusual mag- 
nificence, and were participated in by numerous 
military and civic organizations, and by thousands 
of citizens from all parts of the country. After the 



102 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



new Vice-President had taken the oath of office. 
President-elect Garfield was formally received by 
the Senate, and escorted to the eastern portico of 
the capitol, where, in the presence of an immense 
multitude of citizens and soldiery, he delivered 




.^ ■' 



JAMBS A. GARFIELD. 

an able and eloquent inaugural address, and took 
the oath of ollice at the hands of Chief- Justice 
Waite. 

The new President had been long and favorably 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. lOo 

known to his countrymen. He was in his fiftieth 
year, and in vigorous health. A man of command- 
ing presence, he was dignified and courteous in his 
demeanor, accessible to the humblest citizen, and 
deservedly popular with men of all parties. Born 
a poor boy, without influential friends, he had by 
his own eflbrts secured a thorough collegiate edu- 
cation, and had carefully fitted himself for the 
arduous duties he was now called upon to dis- 
charge. Entering the army at the outbreak of the 
civil war, he had won a brilliant reputation as a 
soldier, and been promoted to the rank of Major- 
General of volunteers. Elected to Congress from 
Ohio, in 1862, he had entered the House of Repre- 
.sentatives in December, 1863, and had seen almost 
eighteen years of constant service in that body, in 
which he had long ranked as one of the most bril- 
liant and trusted leaders of the Republican party. 
Early in 1880 he had been chosen a United States 
Senator from Ohio, but had been prevented from 
taking his seat in the Senate by his election to the 
Presidency. Immediately after his inauguration 
the names of the new cabinet were sent to the 
Senate, and were confirmed without opposition. 
James G. Blaine, of Maine, was Secretary of State : 
William Vv^indom, of Minnesota, was Secretary of 
the Treasury ; Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois, son of 
ex-Fresident Abraham Lincoln, was Secretary of 
War; William H. Hunt, of Louisiana, was Secretary 
of the Navy ; Samuel J. Kirk wood, of Iowa, was Sec- 



i04 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

rctary of the Interior ; Thomas L. James, of New 
York, was Postmaster-General, and Wayne Mc- 
Veagh, of Pennsylvania, was Attorney-General. 

The Cabinet was regarded, generally, as one 
very judiciously selected, being all men of marked 
ability, though of somewhat different shades of 
opinion in the Republican party. 

As the time wore on, President Garfield gained 
steadily in the esteem of his countrymen. His 
purpose to give to the nation a fair and just ad- 
ministration of the government was every day 
more apparent, and his high and noble qualities 
became more conspicuous. Men began to feel for 
the first time in many years that the Executive 
chair was occupied by a President capable of con- 
ceiving a pure and noble standard of duty, and 
possessed of the firmness and strength of will 
necessary to carry it into execution. The country 
was prosperous, and there was every reason to ex- 
pect a continuance of the general happiness. 

On the morning of July 2d, President Garfield, 
accompanied by a distinguished party, including 
several members of tlie Cabinet, preceeded to the 
Baltimore and Potomac depot, in Washington, to 
take the cars for Lons: Branch. The President 
arrived in company with Secretary Blaine. They 
left the President's carriage together, and walked 
arm-in-arm into the depot. In passing through 
the ladies' vv^ai ting-room, the President was fired at 
twice by a man named diaries J. Guiteau. The 



FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 105 

first shot inflicted a slight wound in the President's 
right arm, and the second a terrible wound in the 
right side of his back, between the hip and the 
kidney. The President fell heavily to the floor, 
and the assassin was secured as he was seeking to 
make his escape from the building. 

The whole city w^as thrown into the greatest 
consternation and agitation when swift-winged 
rumor bore the news through every street and 
avenue, that the President had been assassinated ! 
The wires carried the same consternation through- 
out the length and breadth of the Union, as well 
as to foreign nations. 

In the meantime, the suffering President re- 
ceived every attention that could be given. He 
was borne as soon as possible to the Executive 
mansion, where many eminent surgeons of the 
country were soon summoned to hi^ bedside ; but 
no permanent relief was given. The ball w^as not 
found, and he continued to suffer and languish for 
weeks. His physicians thought it best to remove 
him to Long Branch. Suitable and comfortable ar- 
rangements were made for his travel from the 
White House to Francklyn Cottage, at Elberon, at 
that place, and his journey was successfully per- 
formed on the 6th of September. 

Here he continued to languish, with intervals of 
hopeful improvement until he suddenly grew worse 
on the 18th, and finally expired quietly at 10.35 
p. M., on the 19th of September. 



106 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

His remains were taken to Washington and laj 
in state in the rotunda of the capitol, after which 
they were conveyed to Cleveland, Ohio, and there 
interred with the most solemn and impressive cer- 
emonies. Never before was there such universal 
and unfeigned sorrow over the death of any public 
official. 

On the night of the death of the President at 
Elberon, the members of the Cabinet present joined 
in sending the following telegram to Mr. Arthur, 
the Vice-President, who was at that time in the 
city of New York : 

" It becomes our painful duty to inform you of 
the death of President Garfield, and to advise you 
to take the oath of office without delay." 

Mr. Arthur, as advised by Mr. Garfield's Cabi- 
net, immediatelv took the oath of office before 
Judge Brady, -one of the Justices of the Supreme 
Court of the State of New York. 

On the 22d of September President Arthur again 
took the oath of office, this time at the hands of 
the Chief-Justice of the United States, and was 
quietly inaugurated in the Vice-President's room, 
in the Capitol at Washington, delivering upon this 
occasion a brief inaugural address. 

President Arthur entered quietly upon the duties 
of his administration, and his first acts were sat- 
isfactory to a majority of his countrymen. As he 
had been the leader of " the Stalwart " section of 
the Republican party, it was felt by the mem- 



PACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 



lOT 



bers of the Cabinet of the late President that he 
should be free to choose his own advisers. There- 
fore, immediately upon his accession to the Execu- 
tive chair, Mr. Blaine and his colleagues tendered 







CHESTER A. AKTIIUil 



him their resignations. They were requested, 
however, by the new President to retain their 
offices until he could find suitable successors to 



108 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

them. To this they agreed, but before the year 
was out several important changes had been made 
in tlie Cabinet. The principal of these were the sub- 
stitution of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, of New 
Jersey, for Mr. Blaine, as Secretary of State, and 
the appointment of Judge Charles J. Folger, of 
Ohio, to the Treasury Department. 

One of the first acts of the new administration 
was to cause the indictment of Charles J. Guiteau 
for the murder of President Garfield. After some 
delay the trial of the assassin began on the 14th 
of November. It ended on the 25th of Januarj-, 
1882, in the conviction of Guiteau for the murder 
of the late President. 

The execution took place in the District jail on 
the 30th of June, 1882, and was witnessed by 
about 200 people, many of whom were represen- 
tatives of the press. 

The administration of President Arthur resulted 
in the prosperity of the whole country, and was 
satisfactory to the mass of the people. 

ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 

The twenty-second President of the United 
States was Grover Cleveland. Mr. Cleveland was 
a native of New Jersey, and was born in Caldwell, 
Essex Co., March 18, 1837. He came from sturdy 
New England stock, many of his ancestors having 
held honorable positions in their respective locali- 
ties. Some of them were ministers, of which 




PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND. 



109) 



110 FACTS ABOUT ALL OUR PRESIDENTS. 

number was President Cleveland's father. The 
training in the family was such as to make the 
boys, of whom there were several, upright, self- 
reliant, acquainted with public affairs, and quali- 
fied for useful life. 

President Cleveland, after teaching two or three 
years, studied law in Buffalo, was admitted to the 
bar, became sheriff of the county, and, having re- 
ceived the nomination for Governor of New York, 
was elected by a large majority. This was fol- 
lowed by his nomination in the Democratic Con- 
vention of 1884 and his election in the fallowing 
November. 

With very imposing ceremonies Mr. Cleveland 
was inaugurated at Washington on the 4th of 
March, 1885. His inaugural address was a clear, 
manly and forcible presentation of the duties be- 
longing to his high office, with vsome suggestions 
concerning the vital questions of the hour. 

President Cleveland's administration was char- 
acterized by a conservative policy, a desire to pu- 
rify official life, a bold and vigorous dealing with 
the tariff question, and a careful guarding of the 
public treasury. At the close of the third year of 
his administration the Democratic party naturally 
looked to him to be their standard-bearer during 
the ensuing campaign. 



Appendix A. 



Figures are said to be dry, but figures some- 
times have a large meaning. They are the skele- 
ton^ and no body would be good for much without 
the skeleton. It is all a question of figures as to 
whether a man is a millionaire or a pauper, whether 
he is elected to the highest office in the gift of the 
people or suffers inglorious defeat. Figures are 
mighty; they tell thrilling tales; they rule the 
world. 

The next morning after an exciting election 
every one wishes to know what figures have to say. 
The following pages will be no less interesting as 
records of history. You will find" it profitable to 
study the contests of party and the results of the 
great campaigns as expressed in these tables. They 
present the cold, hard facts ; they have the force 
that always goes with statistics. The reader will 
see that the two great political parties are very 
evenly matched; neither has an overwhelming 
advantage over the other in the popular vote. 
This appendix also gives a full list of Govern- 
ment Officers, Members of Congress, and Diplo- 
matic Corps. 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 



1860. 



RtatM. 

Alabama, 

Arkansas, 

California, 

Colorado, 

Connecticut, 

Delaware, 

Florida, 

Georgia, 

Illinois, 

Indiana, 

Iowa, 

Kansas, 

Kentucky, 

Louisiana, 

Maine, 

Maryland, 

Massachusetts, 

Michigan, 

^linnesota, 

Mississippi, 

Missouri, 

Nebraska, 

Nevada, 

New Hampshire, 

New Jersey, 

New York, 

North Carolina, 

Ohio, 

Oregon, 

Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, 

South Carolina, 

Tennessee, 

Texas, 

Vermont, 

Virginia, 

West Virginia, 

Wisconsin, 

Tutalb. 



lincolu, 


Douglas, 


Breckinridge, 


3eU, 


R. 


1). 


D. 


U. 




13651 


48831 


27875 




5227 


23732 


20094 


39173 


38516 


34334 


6817 


43792 


15522 


14641 


3291 


3815 


1023 


7337 


3864 




367 


8543 


5437 




11590 


51889 


42886 


172161 


160215 


2404 


4913 


139033 


115509 


12295 


5306 


70409 


55111 


1048 


1763 


1364 


25651 


53143 


66058 




7625 


22681 


20204 


62811 


26693 


6368 


2046 


2294 


5966 


42482 


41760 


106533 


34372 


5939 


22331 


88480 


65057 


805 


405 


22069 


11920 


748 


62 




3283 


40797 


25040 


17028 


58081 
5801 


31317 


58372 


37519 


22811 


2212 


441 


58324 


62500 






362646 


312731 










48539 


44990 


231610 


18822 


11403 


12194 


5270 


3951 


5006 


183 


268030 


16765 


178871 


12776 


12244 


7707 






Electors 


chosen by Legislature. 






11350 


64709 


69274 






47548 


15438 


33808 


6849 


218 


1969 


1929 


16290 


74323 


74681 


86n*0 


65021 


'888 


'"iei 



1866452 1375157 847953 590631 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 



1868. 



1864. 



] 


Electoral Grant, 


Seymour, 


r 

Lincoln, 


McClellan, 


States. 


Vote. 


R. 


D. 


R. 


D. 


Alabama, 


10 


76366 


72086 






Arkansas, 


6 


22152 


10078 






California, 


6 


54592 


54078 


62134 


43841 


Colorado, 


3 











Connecticut, 


6 


50996 


47951 


44691 


42285 


Delaware, 


3 


7623 


10980 


8155 


8767 


Florida, 


4 


Electors chosen 


by Legislat 


,ure. 


Georgia, 


U 


57134 


102822 






Illinois, 


21 


256293 


199143 


189996 


158730 


Indiana, 


15 


176552 


166980 


150422 


130233 


Iowa, 


11 


120399 


74040 


89075 


40596 


Kansas, 


5 


31047 


14019 


16441 


3691 


Kentucky, 


12 


39569 


115889 


27786 


64301 


Louisiana, 


8 


33263 


80225 






Maine, 


7 


70426 


42396 


6814 


46992 


Maryland, 


8 


30438 


62357 


40153 


32739 


Massachusetts, 


13 


136477 


-^9408 


126742 


48745 


Michigan, 


11 


128550 


97009 


91521 


74()04 


Minnesota, 


5 


43542 


28072 


21060 


17375 


Mississippi, 


8 











Missouri, 


15 


85671 


59788 


72750 


31678 


Nebraska, 


3 


9729 


5439 






Nevada, 


3 


6480 


5218 


9826 


6594 


New Hampshire, 5 


38191 


31224 


36400 


32871 


New Jersey, 


9 


80121 


83001 


60723 


68024 


New York, 


35 


410883 


429883 


368732 


361986 


North Carolina. 


, 10 


96226 


84090 






Ohio, 


22 


280128 


237800 


265154 


205568 


Oregon, 


3 


10961 


11125 


9888 


8457 


Pennsylvania, 


29 


342280 


313382 


296391 


276316 


Rhode Island, 


4 


12903 


6548 


14349 


8718 


South Carolina, 


, 7 


62301 


45237 






Tennessee, 


12 


56757 


26311 






Texas, 


8 










Vermont, 


5 


44167 


12045 


42419 


13321 


Virginia, 


11 










West Virginia, 


5 


29025 


20306 


23152 


10438 


Wisconsin, 


10 
369 


108857 


84710 


83458 


65884 


Totals, 


3013188 


2703600 


2223035 


811754 



4 I'OPULAR VOTE 


FOR PRESIDENT. 






*1876. 




tl880. 






Hayes, Tikleu 


Garfitld Hancock Weaver, 


Dow, 


States. 


R. D. 


R. 


D. 


G. 


P. 


Alabama, 


68,708 102,989 


56,221 


91,185 


4,642 




Arkansas, 


38,069 .58,071 


42,436 


60,775 


4,079 




Calitbrnia, 


79,279 76,468 


80,348 


80,426 


3,392 




Colorado, 


By Legislature. 


27,450 


24,647 


1,435 




Connecticut, 


59,034 61,934 


67,071 


64,415 


868 


409 


J)ela\vare, 


10,752 13,381 


14,133 


15,275 


120 




Florida, 


23,849 22,927 


23,654 


27,964 






(loorgia, 


50,446 130,088 


54,086 


102,470 


***969 




Illinois, 


278,232 258,601 


318,037 


277,321 


26,358 


' 443 


Indiana, 


208,011 213,526 


232,164 


225,522 


12,986 




Iowa, 


171,326 112,121 


183,927 


105,845 


32,701 


592 


Kansas, 


78,322 37,902 


121,549 


59,801 


19,851 


25 


Kentucky, 


97,156 159.696 


106,306 


149,068 


11,499 


258 


Louisiana, 


75,315 70,508 


38,637 


65,067 


439 




jMaine, 


66,300 49,917 


74,039 


65,171 


4,408 


93 


Maryland, 


71,981 91,780 


78,515 


93,706 


818 




Massachusetts, 


150,063 108,777 


165,205 


111,960 


4,548 


682 


^liehigan. 


166,534 141,095 


185,341 


131,597 


34,895 


942 


Minnesota, 


72,962 48,799 


93,903 


53,315 


3,267 


286 


IMississippi, 


52,605 112,173 


34,854 


75,750 


5,797 




Missouri, 


145,029 203,077 


153,567 


208,609 


35, 1 35 




Nebraska, 


31,916 17,554 


54,979 


28,523 


3,950 




Nevada, 


10,383 9,308 


8,732 


9.613 






NewHampshir 


e 41,539 38,509 


44,852 


40,794 


528 


180 


New Jersey, 


103,517 115,962 


120,555 


122,565 


2,617 


191 


New York, 


489,207 521,949 


555,544 


534,511 


12,373 


1,517 


North Carolina 


, 108,417 125,427 


115,874 


124,208 


1,126 




Ohio, 


330,698 323,182 


375,048 


340,821 


6,456 


2,616 


Oregon, 


15,206 14,149 


20,619 


19,948 


249 




l^ennsylvania, 


384,184 366,204 444,704 407,428 


20,668 


1,939 


Rhode Island, 


15,787 10,712 


18,195 


10,779 


236 


20 


South Carolina, 


91,870 90,896 


58,071 


112,312 


566 




Tennessee, 


89,566 133,166 


107,677 


128.191 


5,917 


'**43 


Texas, 


44,803 104,803 


57,893 


156,428 


27,405 




A'^ermont, 


44,428 20,350 


45,567 


18,316 


1,215 




Virginia, 


95,558 139,670 


84,020 


128,586 






West Virginia, 


42,046 56,495 


46,243 


57,391 


9,079 




AVisconsin, 


130,070 123,926 


144,400 114,649 
4,454,416 4,444,952 


7,986 
308,578 


69 


Total, 


4,033,768 4,285,992 


10,305 


Maj. over all, 


145,911 


t9,464 









♦1876— Greenback, 81,737; Prohibition, 9,522; American, 539 ; imper- 
fect and scatteriiij^, 14,715. f 1880 — Greenliack, 308,578; Proliibitiuii, 
10,305 ; American, 707 ; imperfect and scattering, 989. J Plurality. All, 
over Garfield, 311,115. 



POPULAR VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. 



*1884. 



States. 
Alabama, 
Arkansas, 
Calilbrnia, 
Colorado, 
Connecticut, 
Delaware, 
Florida, 
Georgia, 
Illinois, 
Indiana, 
Iowa, 
Kansas, 
Kentucky, 
Louisiana, 
Maine, 
IMaryland, 
Massachusetts, 
Michigan, 
Minnesota, 
Mississippi, 
Missouri, 
Nebraska, 
Nevada, 

New Hampshire, 
New Jersey, 
New York, 
North Carolina, 
Ohio, 
Oregon, 
Pennsylvania, 
Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, 
Tennessee, 
Texas, 
Vermont, 
Virginia, 
West Virginia, 
Wisconsin, 

Total, 
Plurality, 



Blaine, 


Cleveland, 


Butler, 


St. John, 


R. 


D. 


G. 


P. ' 


59,591 


93,951 


873 


612 


50,895 


72,927 


1,847 




102,416 


89,288 


2,017 


2,920 


36,290 


27,723 


1,958 


761 


65,923 


67,199 


1,688 


2,305 


12,951 


16,964 


6 


55 


28,031 


31,766 




72 


48,603 


94,667 


"145 


195 


337,474 


312,355 


10,910 


12,074 


238,463 


244,990 


8,293 


3,028 


197,089 


177,316 




1,472 


154,406 


90,132 


1*6,341 


4,495 


118,122 


152,961 


1,691 


3,139 


46,347 


62,540 







72,209 


52,140 


3,953 


*2,i60 


85,699 


96,932 


531 


2,794 


146,724 


122,481 


24,433 


10,026 


192,669 


149,835 


42,243 


18,403 


111,923 


70,144 


3,583 


4,684 


43,509 


76,510 







202,929 


235,988 




2,153 


76,912 


54,391 




2,899 


7,193 


5,578 


***26 




43,249 


39,183 


552 


1*571 


123,440 


127,798 


3,496 


6,159 


562,005 


563,154 


16,994 


25,016 


125,068 


142,952 




454 


400,082 


368,280 


b'S'l'd 


11,069 


26,860 


24,604 


726 


492 


473,804 


392,785 


16,992 


15,283 


19.030 


12,391 


422 


928 


21,733 


69,890 






124,078 


133,258 


* 957 


*i*,i3i 


93,141 


225,309 


3,321 


3,534 


39,514 


17,331 


785 


1,752 


139,356 


145,497 




138 


63,096 


67,317 


"sio 


939 


161,157 


146,459 
4,874,986 


4,598 
175,370 


7,656 


4,851,981 


150,369 


23,005 









* 1884 — Blank, defective and scattering, 14,904. In consequence of the 
uncertainties in tlie count resulting from the " fusions " formed, the plu- 
rality shown for Cleveland must be considered an approximation to thd 
actual result — not a definite result. All, over Cleveland, 317,038. 



6 APPENDIX A. 

TOTALS OF PREVIOUS PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 

1828—1,156,328. 1832—1,217,601. 1836—1,498,205. 1840— 
2,410,772. 1844—2,698,608. 1848—2,872,806. 1852—3,142,877. 
1856—4,053,967. 1860—4,676,853. 1864—4,024,762. 1868— 
5,724,624. 1872—6,431,149. 1876—8,426,273. 1880—9,219,947. 
1884—10,067,610. 

ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTES. 

1876— Republican, 4,033,950; Democratic, 4,284,757; Green- 
back, 81,737; Prohibition, 9,522. 

1872— Republican, 3,507,070; Democratic, * 2,834,079 ; Prohi- 
bition, 5,608. 

1 1868— Republican, 3,015,071 ; Democratic, 2,709,613. 

J 1864— Republican, 2,216,067; Democratic, 1,808,725. 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, 1888. 
Principal Executive, Judicial and Diplomatic Officers. 

The Executive. 
Grover Cleveland, of New York, President of the United 
States, salary, $50,000. 

[The Vice- Presidency is vacant, by reason of the death 
of Mr. Hendricks.] 

The Cabinet. \\ 

Thomas Francis Bayard, of Delaware, Secretary of State, 
salary, $8,000. 

CiiARLE-s S. Fairchild, of New York, Secretary of the Treasury, 
salary, $8,000. 

William C, Endicott, of Massachusetts, Secretary of War^ 
salary, $8,000. 

Don M. Dickinson, of Michigan, Postmaster- General, salary, 
$8,000. 

AucusTUS H. Garland, of Arkan.sas, Attorney- General, salary, 
$8,000. 



* Exclusive of 29,408 for Charles O'Conor. 
t Mississippi, Texas and Virginia did not vote. 
J The eleven " (Confederate " States did not participate. 
II Arranged in the order of succession named in the Presidential 
Succession act of January 19, 1886. 



APPENDIX A. , 7 

William C. Whitney, of New York, Secretary of the Navy, 
salarj^ $8,000. 

William M. Yilas, of Wisconsin, Sea-etary of the Interior, sal- 
ary, $8,000. 

Principal Departmental Officers. 
[The figures after each name indicate the year of appointment 

or assignment.] 

STATE DEPARTMENT. 

Assistant Secretary— George L. Rives (1887), New York ; salary, 
$4,500. 

Second Assistant Secretaiy—Ahey A. Adee (1882), New York, 
$3,500. 

Third Assistant Secretjn-y— John B. Moore (1886), Delaware, 
$3,500. 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

Assistant Secretaries — Isaac H. Maynard (1887), New York, 
$4,500; Hugh S. Thompson (1886), South Carolina, $4,500. 

Bureau of Engraving and Printing — Edward 0. Graves (1885), 
New York, $4,500. 

S^ipervising Architect — William A. Freret (1887), Louisiana, 
$4,500. 

First Comptrollei — Milton J. Durham (1885), Kentucky, $5,000. 

Second Comptroller — Sigourney Butler (1887), Massachusetts, 
$5,000. 

Commissioner of Customs — John S. McCalmont (1885), Pennsyl- 
vania, 4,000. 

First Auditor— J RVAes Q. Chenoweth (188.5), Texas, $3,600. 

Second Auditor— Vi^iWmm A. Day (1885), Illinois, $3,600. 

Third Auditor— John S. Williams (1885), Indiana, $3,600. 

Fourth Auditoi^— Charles M. Shelley (1885), x\labama, $3,600. 

Fifth Auditor— Anthony Eickhoif (1885), New York, $3,600. 

Sixth ^»c7/^o?'— Daniel McConville (1885), Ohio. $3,600. 

Treasurer U. >S'.— James W. Hyatt (1887), Connecticut, $6,000. 

Register of the Treasury — William S. Rosecrans (1885), Califor- 
nia, $4,000. 

Comptroller of tlie Cw^renc!/— William L. Trenholni (1886), South 
Carolina, $5,000. 

Commksioner of Internal Revenue — Joseph S. Miller (1885), 
West Virginia, $6,000. 



8 APPENDIX A. 

Commmioner of Navigation — Charles B. Morton (1886), Maine, 
$3,000. 

Solicitor of Internal Revenue — Charles Chesley (1871), New 
Ilaiupshire, $4,500. 

Director of the Mint — James P. Kimball (1885), Pennsylvania, 
$4,500. 

Chief of the Secret Service Division — James J. Brooks (1876), 
Pennsylvania, $3,500. 

Supervisinff Surgeon- General of the Marine Hospital Service — - 
John B. Hamilton (1879), Illinois, $4,000. 

Snpe7'visi)ig Inspe/:tor- General of Steam Vessels — James A. Du- 
mont (1876), New York, $3,500. 

^o?/c/Vor— Alexander McCue (1885), New York, 14,500. 

Superintendent of Life- Saving Service — Sumner I. Kimball 
(1876), Maine, $4,000. 

Bureau of Statistics — William F. Switzler (1885), i\Iissouri, 
$3,000. 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 

Adjutant- General— R'ldvcird C. Drum (1880), Pennsylvania.* 
Inspector- General — Absalom BairJ (1885), Pennsylvania.* 
Quartermaster- General — Samuel B. Holabird (1883), Connecti- 
cut.* 

Commissary- General — Robert Macfeely (1875), Penns3'lvania.* 
Surgeon- General — John Moore (1886), Indiana.* 
Paymaster- General — William B. Roche-ster (1882), New York.* 
Chief of Engineers — James C. Duane (188r)), New York.* 
Chief of Orc/>mHcc— Stephen B. Benet (1874), Florida.* 
Acting Judge- Advocate- General — Guido N. Lieber (1885), New 

York.t 

Chief Signal Q/Ttccr— Adolphus W. Greely (1887), Louisiana.* 

NAVY DEPART.MENT. 

Bureau of Yards and Docks — David B. Harmony (1885), Penn- 
sylvania. 

Bureau of Navigation — John G. Walker (1881), Iowa. 

Bureau of Ordnance — Mont,u;omery Sicard (1881), District of 
Columbia. 

Bureau of Provisions and Clothing — James Fulton (1887), Ten- 
nessee. 



*Pay and allnwances of a Brigadier-General. 
tPay and aLo'vaiiccs of a Colonel. 



APPENDIX A. 9 

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery — Francis M. Gunnell (1884), 
District of Columbia. 

Bureau of Construction and Repair — Theodore D. Wilson (1886), 
New York. 

Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting — WinficlJ S. Sclile}' (1884), 
Maryland. 

Bureau of Steam Engineering — George W. Melville (1887), N, Y. 

Judge- Aduocate- General — William B. Remey, U. S. Marine 
Corps (1878), Iowa, $3,500. 

Commandant of Marine Corps — Charles G. McCawley (1876), 
Pennsylvania. 

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 

First Assistant Postmaster- General — Adlai E. Stevenson (1885), 
Illinois, $4,000. 

Second Assistant Postmaster- General — A. Leo Knott (1885), 
Maryland, $4,000. 

Third Assistant Postmaster- General — Henry R. Harris (1887), 
Georgia, $4,000. 

Assistant Attorney- General — Edwin E. Brj'^ant (1885), Wiscon- 
sin, $4,000. 

Superintendent of Foreign Mails — Nicholas M. Bell (1886), Mis- 
souri, $3,000. 

Supeiintendent of Money Order System — Charles F. Macdonald 
(1864), Massachusetts, $3,500. 

General Superintendent of Railway Mail Service — Thomas E. 
Nash (1887), Wisconsin, $3,500. 

Superintendent of Dead Letter Office — John B. Baird (1885), 
Georgia, $2,250. 

Chief Post Office Inspector— \N m. H. West (1886), Miss., $3,000. 

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT. 

First Assistant Secretary— U. L. Muldrow(1885), Miss., $4,500. 

Assistant Secretanj — David L. Hawkins (1886), Missouri, $4,000. 

Assistant Attorney- General — Zachariah Montgomery (1885), Cal- 
ifornia, $5,000. 

Commissioner of Pensions— J o\m C. Black (1885), III, $5,000. 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs — John D. C. Atkins (1885), Ten- 
nessee, $4,000. 

Commissioner of the Patent Office — Benton J. Hall (1887), Iowa, 
$5,000. 



10 APPENDIX A. 

Commissioner of Railroads — Joseph E. Johnston (1885), Vir- 
ginia, $4,500. 

Commissioner of Education — Nathaniel A. H. Dawson (1886), 
Alabama, $3,000. 

Director of Geological Survey— J. W. Powell (1881), 111., $6,000. 

Commissioner of Labor — Carroll D. Wright (1885), Mass., $3,000. 

Architect of the Capitol— Edward Clark (1865), Penn., $4,500. 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. 

Solicitor- General — George A. Jenks (1886), Pennsylvania, $7,000. 
Assistant At toniei/s- General — Robert A. Howard, Arkansas; 
William A. Maury, District of Columbia, $5,000 each. 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

Fuhlic Printer— Thom?iS E. Benedict (1886), New York, $4,500. 

DEPART.^IENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

Commissioner — Norman J. Colman (1885), Missouri, $4,500. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Librarian— km^Vforih. R. SpofFord (1865), Ohio, $4,000. 

GOVERNMENT DIRECTORS IN THE UNION PACIFIC R. R. COMPANY. 

Frederic R. Coudert, N. Y. ; Franklin McVeagh, 111. ; iNIarcus 
A. Hanna, Ohio ; Alexander C. Haskell, South Carolina , James 
W. Savage, Nebraska. 

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS. 

Alfred P. Edgerton, Indiana ; John H. Oberly, Illinois ; Charles 
Lyman, Connecticut, $3,500 each. 

Justices of the Supreme Court* 
Chief-Justice—Mohl\\e^Y. Fuller, Illinois. Appointed in 1888. 

JUSTICE. NO. OF CIRCUIT. WHEN APPOINTED. 

Samuel F. :Miller, of Iowa 8 1862 

Stephen J. Field, of California 9 1863 

Joseph P. Bradley, of New Jersey 3 1 870 

John M. Harlan, of Kentucky 7 1877 

Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi 5 1888 

Stanley Matthews, of Ohio 6 1881 

Horace Gray, of Massachusetts 1 1881 

Samuel Blatchford, of New York 2 1882 
Retired Justice — William Strong, Pennsylvania, $10,000 a j'ear. 

* Salary of the Chief-Justice, $10,500 ; of each Justice, $10,000. 



Appendix B. 



WHAT IT COSTS THE PRESIDENT TO LIVE. 

The official salary of the President is fixed 
by law at fifty thousand dollars ])er annum, 
or two hundred thousand dollars for his term 
of four years. At the beginning of eacli 
term Congress makes an appropriation for 
refurnishing the Executive Mansion. The 
kitchen and pantry are supplied to a consid- 
erable extent by the same body. Congiesa 
pays all the emj)loyees about the house, from 
the private secretary to the humblest boot- 
black; it provides fuel and lights; keeps up 
the stables; and furnishes a coips of gar- 
deners and a garden to supply the Presiden- 
tial board with fruits, flowers, and vegetables. 
Many persons suj)pose that these allowances 
ought to be enough to enable him to live 
comfortably. They are mistaken, however. 
The President is required by public opinion 
to live in a style consistent with the dignity 
of his position and the honor of the countiy, 
and such a mode of life imposes upon him 
many very heavj^ expenses. Besides this, 
he is expected to be liberal and charitable 
towards persons and meritorious causes seek- 
ing his aid, and "their name is legion." He 
cannot give as a private individual; his do- 
nation must be large. The expense of en- 
tertaining the various officers of the Govern- 
ment, members of Congress, and Foreign 



Z THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Ministers, is enormous. One hnndred tlion- 
Siinrl dolhu's per annum would not be too 
mueh to allow him. 

THE PRESIDENT'S VISITORS. 

Access to the President may be easily had 
by any person having legitimate business 
with him, or wishing to pay his respects to 
the Chief Magistrate of the Union, but, as 
His Excellency's time is valuable and mucli 
occupied, interviews are limited to the short- 
est possible duration. Visitors, upon siicli 
occasions, rei)air to the reception-room ad- 
joining the President's private office, send 
in their cards, and await His Excellency's 
pleasure. 

Besides granting these private interviews, 
the Pi-esident holds public receptions or 
levees at stated times during the sessions of 
Congress. 

His official title is ''Mr. President," but 
courtesy has added that of ''His Excellency." 
It is worthy of remark that none of the Ex- 
ecutive officers of the States of the Union, 
except the Governor of Massachusetts, have 
anv legal claim to the titles "His Excel- 
lency" and "Your Excellency." 

All sorts of peo])le come to see the Presi- 
dent, on all sorts of business. His immense 
patronage makes him the object of the 
efforts of many unprincij)led men. His in- 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 3 

tegrity is subjected to the sevei'est trials 
and if lie come out of office poor, as happily 
all of our Presidents have don-e, he must in- 
deed be an honest man. His position is not 
a bed of roses, for he cannot hope to i)lease 
all parties. His friends exaggerate his good 
qualities, and often make him appear ridicu- 
lous, while his enemies masfniiV liis faults 
and errors, and slander and persecute him 
in every imaginable way. Pitfalls are set 
for him along every step of his i)ath, and he 
must be wary indeed if he would not fall 
into them. The late President Buchanan 
once said that there were at least two per- 
sons in the world who could not echo the 
wish experienced by each American niothei-, 
that her son might one day be President, 
and that they were the retiring and the in- 
coming Presidents, the tirst of whom was 
worn and weary with the burden he was lay- 
ing down, and the other for the tirst time 
fully alive to the magnitude of the task he 
had undertaken. 

CABINET MEETINGS. 

The Cabinet Ministers in our Government 
are the Secretaries placed at the heads of 
the various Departments. They are the 
constitutional advisers of the President, but 
he is not obliged to be governed by their 
advice. It is customary, however, to lay all 



4 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

important matters before them for their 
opinions thereupon, ^vhich are submitted in 
writing at the request of the President, and 
for this purpose reguLir meetings of the 
Cabinet are lield at stated times in a room 
in the Executive Mansion, piovided for that 
purpose. It is located on the second tloor of 
the mansion, and is plainly but comfortably 
furnished. 

The relations existing between the Presi- 
dent and his Cabinet are, oi* ought to be, of 
the most friendly and confidential nature. 
They are well set forth in the attitude main- 
tained upon this point by Mr. Lincoln. Says 
Mr. Raymond, his biographer: ''He always 
maintained that the proper duty of each 
Secretary was to direct the details of every- 
thing done within his own Department, and 
to tender such suggestions, information, and 
advice to the President as he might solicit 
at his hands. But the duty and responsi- 
bility of deciding what line of ])olicy should 
be pursued, or what steps should be taken 
in any specific case, in his judgment, be- 
longed exclusively to the Pi'osident; and he 
was always willing and ready to assume it.'' 

THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The Executive Mansion is situated on 
Pennsylvania Avenue, near the western end 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 5 

of the city, and is surrounded by the Treas- 
uiT, State, War, and Navy Departments. 
The grounds in front are handsomely orna- 
mented, and in the rear a fine park stretches 
awav to the rivci. Tlie h)cation is attractive, 
and commands a magnificent view of the 
Potomac, but it is not healthy. Ague and 
fever prevails in the Spring and Fall, and 
renders it anything but a desirable place of 
residence. The building is constructed of 
freestone painted white — hence its most 
common name, the "White House." It was 
designed by James Hoban, and was modeled 
after the palace of the duke of Leinster. 
The corner-stone was laid on the 13th of 
October, 1792, and the house was ready for 
occupancy in the Summer of 1800. It was 
partially destroyed by the British in 1814. 
It has a front of one hundred and seventy 
feet, and a depth of eighty-six feet. It con- 
tains two lofty stoi'ies of rooms, and the roof 
is surrounded with a handsome balustrade. 
The exterior walls are ornamented with fine 
Ionic pilasters. On the north front is a 
handsome portico, witli four Ionic columns 
in front, and a projecting screen with three 
columns. The space between these two rows 
of pillars is a covered carriage way. The 
main entrance to the house is from this por- 
tico through a massive doorway, which opens 
into the main hall. The garden front has a 



O THE WHITE HOUSE. 

rusticated basement, which gives a third 
story to the house on this side, and by a 
semi-circular projecting colonnade of six 
columns, witli two flights of steps, leading 
from the ground to the level of the principal 
storv. 

THE INTERIOR OF THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Entering by the main door, the visitor 
finds himself in a handsome hall, divided 
midway by a row of imitation marble pil- 
lars, and ornamented with portraits of former 
Presidents. Passing to the left, you enter 
the magnificent banqueting hall, or, as it is 
commonly called, 

THE EAST ROOM, 

which occupies the entire eastern side of the 
house. It is a beautiful apartment, and is 
handsomely finnished. It is used during 
the levees and upon great State occasions. 
The President sometimes receives here the 
congratulations and respects of his fellow- 
citizens, and is subjected to the torture ol 
having his hand squeezed out of shape by 
his enthusiastic friends. It's a great pity 
that some one of our Chief Mairistrates has 
not the moral courage to put a stop to this 
lidiculous ])i'actice of hand-shaking. The 
Kast Poom is eighty-six feet long, forty feet 
wide, and twenty-eight feet high. It has four 



THE WHITE HOUSE. i 

rire-l)laces, and is not an easy I'oom to warm. 
Adjoining the East Room are three others, 
smaller in size, the whole constituting one ol 
the handsomest suites in the conntry. The 
first, adjoining the East Room, is the Green 
Room, the next the Blue Room, and the 
third the Red Room. Each is handsomely 
furnished, the prevailing color of the apart- 
ment giving the name. 

THE RED ROOM 

is elliptical in form, having a how in rear, 
and is one of the handsomest in the house. 
It is used by the President as a general I'e- 
ception-rocmi. He receives here the official 
visits of the dignitaries of the Republic, and 
of foreia^n ministers. Previous to the com- 
pletion of the East Room, this apartment 
was used for all occasions of public cere 
mony. 

The building contains thirty-one rooms ol 
considerable size. West of the Red Room is 
the large dining-room used upon State occa- 
sions, and adjoining that is the small dining- 
room ordinarily used by tlie President and 
his family. The stairs to the upper story are 
on the left of the main entrance, and are 
always in charge of the door-keeper and 
his assistants, whose business it is to see 
that no impi'oper characters iind access tc 
the lu'ivate portion of the house. 



8 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The nortli front has six rooms, wliich ai*€ 
used as cliainbers by the family of the Presi- 
dent, and the south front has seven roonis — 
the ante-chamber, audience-room, cabinet- 
room, private office of the President, the 
ladies' parlor, and two others, used for vari- 
ous purposes. 

THE LADIES* PARLOR 

is situated immediately over the Red Room, 
and is of the same size and shape. It is 
for the private use of the Ladies of the Pres- 
ident's family, and is the handsomest and 
most tastefully furnished apartment in the 
house. 

There are eleven rooms in the basement, 
which ai'e used as kitchens, pantries, but- 
ler's loom, &c. The house is built in the 
old style, and has an air of elegance and 
comfort extremely pleasing to the eye. 

FIRST MISTRESS OF THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Mrs. John Adams came to Washington 
with her husband in November, 1800, and 
at once took possession of the Executive 
Mansion. Iler impressions of it are thus 
described by herself in a letter to her 
daughter, written soon after her arrival. 
She says : 

"The house is upon a grand and superb 
Bcale, requiring about thirty servants to 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 9 

attend and keep the apartments in propei 
order, and perform the ordinary business of 
the house and stables — an establishment 
very well proportioned to the President's 
salary. The lighting the aj)artments, from 
the kitchen to parlors and chambers, is a 
tax indeed, and the fires we are obliged to 
keep to secure us from daily agues is an- 
other very cheering comfort. To assist ns 
in this great castle, and render less attend- 
ance necessary, bells are wholly wanting, 
not one single one being hung through the 
whole house, and promises are all you can 
obtain. This is so great an inconvenience, 
that I know not what to do or how to do. 
The ladies from Georgetown and in the 
€ity have many of them visited me. Yes- 
terday I returned fifteen visits. But such 
a place as Georgetown ai)pears ! Why, our 
Milton is beautiful. But no comparisons ; 
if they put me up bells, and let me have 
wood enough to keep fires, I design to be 
jjleased. But, surrounded with forests, can 
you believe that wood is not to be had, be- 
cause people cannot be found to cut and 
cart it ? . . . We have indeed, come into 
a new country, 

*'The house is made habitable, but there 
is not a single apartment finished, and all 
within-side, except the plastering, has been 
done since B. came. We have not the least 

9 



10 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

fence^ yard, or convenience witJiotd, and the 
great unfinished audience-room I make a 
drying-room of, to hang up the clothes in. 
. . .If the twelve years, in which this 
place has been considered as the future seat 
of government, had been improved, as they 
would have been in New England, very 
many of the present inconveniences would 
have been removed. It is a beautiful spot, 
capable of any improvement, and the moie 
I view it, the more I am deliglited with it.'' 

OLD TIMES AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Mr. Cooper thus desciibes a dinner at the 
White House, to which he was invited, 
during its occupancy by Mr. Monroe: 

*'0n this occasion, we were honored >vUh 
the pi'esence of Mrs. Monroe, and two or 
three of her female relatives. Crossing the 
hall, we wei'e admitted to a drawing-ioom, 
in which most of the company were ali'cady 
assembled. The hour was six. Bv far the 
greater pai*t of the guests were men, and 
perhaps two-thirds were membei's of Cim- 
gress. . . . There was very gieat gravity 
of mien in most of the company, and neither 
any very marked exhibition, nor any posi- 
tively striking want of gi*ace of mannei*. 
The convei'sation was commonplace, and a 
little sombre, though two or three men of the 
woi'ld got around the ladies, where the bat- 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 11 

tie of words was maintained with sufficient 
spirit. ... To me the entertainment had 
rather a cold than a formal air. When dinner 
was announced, the oldest Senator present 
(there were two, and seniority of service is 
meant) took Mrs. Monroe, and led her to 
the table. The rest of the party foHowed 
without much oi'der. The President took a 
lady, as usual, and preceded the rest of the 
guests. 

''The drawing-room was an apartment of 
good size, and of just proportions. It might 
have been about as large as the better sort 
of Paris salo7i in a private hotel. It was 
furnished in a mixed style, partly English 
and partly French. ... It was neat, 
sufficiently rich, without being at all mag- 
niticent, and, on the whole, was very much 
like a similar apai'tment in the house of a 
man of rank and fortune in Europe. The 
dining-ioom was in a better taste than is 
common here, being quite simple, and but 
little famished. The table was large and 
rather liandsome. The service was in china, 
as is uniformly the case, plate being ex- 
ceedingly rare, if at all used. There was, 
however, a rich plateau, and a great abun- 
dance of the smaller articles of table-i)late. 
The cloth, napkins, &c., &c., were line and 
beautiful. 

''The dinner was served in the French 



12 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

style, a little Americanized. The dishes 
were handed round, though some of the 
guests, ai)peai'ing to prefer their own cus- 
toms, coolly helped themselves to what they 
found at hand. Of attendants there were a 
good many. They were neatly dressed, out 
of liverv, and sufficient. To conclude, the 
whole entertainment might have passed for 
a better sort of European dinner-party, at 
which the guests were too numerous for 
general or very agreeable discourse, and 
some of them too new to be entirely at their 
ease. Mrs. Monroe arose, at the end of the 
dessert, and withdrew, attended by two or 
three of the most gallant of the company. 
No sooner was his wife's back turned, than 
the President reseated himself, inviting his 
guests to imitate the action. After allowing 
his guests sufficient time to renew, in a few 
glasses, the recollections of similar enjoy- 
ments of their own, he arose himself, giving 
the hint to his company, that it was time to 
rejoin the ladies. In the drawing-room, 
coffee was served, and everybody left the 
house before nine." 

AN OLD-TIME LEVEE. 

"On the succeeding Wednesday, Mrs. 
Monroe opened her doors to all the woi'ld. 
No invitation was necessaiy^ it being the 
usage for the wife of the Pi-esidcnt to receive 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 13 

company once a fortnight during the session, 
without distinction of persons. 
- "We reached the White House at nine. 
The court (or rather the grounds) was filled 
with carriages, and the company was arriv- 
ing in great numbers. On this occasion two 
or three additional drawing-rooms were 
opened, though the frugality of Congress has 
prevented them from finishing the principal 
reception-room of the building. I will ac- 
knowledge the same sort of surprise I felt at 
the Castle Garden fete, at finding the assem- 
blage so respectable in air, dress and de- 
portment. 

"The evening at the White House, or 
drawing-room, as it is sometimes pleasantly 
called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes 
of people, who choose to go to the trouble 
and expense of ajipearing in dresses suited 
to an ordinary evening party. I am not sure 
that even dress is much regarded ; for I cer- 
tainly saw a good many there in boots. The 
females were all neatly and properly attired, 
though few W'Cre ornamented with jewelry. 
Of course, the poor and laboring classes of 
t-he community w^ould find little or no pleas- 
ure in such a scene. They consequently stay 
away. The infamous, if known, would not 
be admitted; for it is a peculiar consequence 
of the high tone of morals in this country, 
that grave and notorious offenders rarely 



14 THE WHITE HObSE. 

presume to violate tlie public feeling by in«» 
vadino: society.* 

"Squeezing through the crowd, we achieved 
a passage to n part of the room wliere Mrs. 
Monroe was standing, surrounded by a bevy 
of female friends. After making oui* bow 
here, we sought the President. The hxtter 
had posted himself at the top of the loom, 
where he remained most of the evening, 
sliaking liands with all wlio ai)proached. 
Near him stood all the Secretaries and a 
great number of the most distinguished men 
of the nation. Individuals of importance 
fi'om all parts of the Union were also here, 
and were employed in the manner usual to 
such scenes. 

''Besides these, one meets here a great 
variety of people in other conditions of life. 
I have known a cartman to leave his horse 
in the street, and go into the reception-room 
to shake hands with the President. He 
offended the good taste of all present, be- 
cause it was not thought decent that a 
laborer should come in a dirty dress on such 
an occasion ; but while he made a trifling 
mistake in this particular, he proved how 
well he understood the diflerence between 
government and society. He knew the levee 
was a sort of homage paid to political equal- 
ity in the person of the first magistrate, but 

* Thiii was over sixty years ago.— Author. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 15 

he would not have presumed to enter the 
house of the same person as a private indi- 
vidual, without being invited, or without a 
reasonable excuse in the wav of business. 

''There are, no doubt, individuals who mis- 
take the character of these assemblies, but 
the great majority do not. They are a sim- 
ple, periodical acknowledgment that there is 
no legal barrier to the advancement of any 
one to the first association in the Union. 
You perceive, there are no masters of cere- 
monies, no ushers, no announcings, nor, in- 
deed, any let or hindrance to the ingress of 
all who please to come ; and yet how few, in 
com{)ari8on to the whole number who might 
enter, do actually appear. If there is any 
man in Washington so dull as to suppose 
equality means a right to thrust himself into 
any company he pleases, it is probable he 
satisfies himself by boasting that he can go 
to the White House once a fortnight, as well 
as a governor or anybody else." 

ETIQUETTE. 

The social observances of the White House 
are prescribed with the utmost exactness. 
At the commencement of A\^ashington's ad- 
ministration, the question of how to regulate 
such matters was discussed with great earn- 
estness. It was agreed that the exclusive 
rules by which European courts were gov- 



16 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



erned would not entirely suit the new Re- 
public, as there were no titled personages in 
Anieiica, and as the society of our country 
was oi'ganized on a i)rofessed basis of equal- 
ity. .Washington caused the following arti- 
cles to be drawn up: 

"In order to bring the nienibei'S of society 
together in the first instance, the custom of 
the country has established that residents 
shall pay the first visit to strangers, and, 
among strangers, fii'st comers to later comers, 
foreign and domestic; the character of stran- 
ger ceasing after the iirst visit. To this rule 
there is a single exception. Foreign minis- 
ters, from the necessity of making them- 
selves known, pay the Iirst visit to the 
[cabinet] ministers of the nation, which is 
returned. 

"When brought together in society, all are 
perfectly equal, whether foreign or domestic, 
titled or untitled, in or out of office. 

"All other observances are but exempli- 
fications of these two principles. 

"The families of foreign ministers, arriving 
at the seat of government, receive the first 
visit from those of the national ministers, as 
from all other residents. 

"Members of the legislatui-e and of the 
judiciary, independent of their ottices, have 
a right, as strangers, to receive the first 
visit. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



17 



''No title being admitted here, those of 
foreigners give no precedence. 

"Differences of grade among the diplo- 
matic members give no precedence. 

"At public ceremonies to whicli tlie gov- 
ernment invites the ])resence of foreign min- 
isters and their families, a convenient seat 
or station will be provided for them, witli 
any other strangers invited, and the families 
of the national ministers, each taking place 
as they arrive, and without any precedence. 

" To maintain the pi'inciple of equality, or 
of i^ele mete, and prevent the growth of pre- 
cedence out of courtesy, the members of the 
executive will practise at their own houses 
and recommend an adherence to the ancient 
usage of the country, of gentlemen in mass 
giving precedence to the ladies in mass, in 
passing from one apartment where they are 
assembled into another.'^ 

These rules w ere too arbitrary and exact- 
ing to give satisfaction, and society was not 
disposed to acknowledge so genuine an 
equality amongst its members. For some 
years, disputes and quarrels were frequent 
and bitter. In the winter of 1819, John 
Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State, ad- 
dressed a letter to Daniel D. Tompkins, the 
Vice-President, stating that he had been 
informed that the members of the Senate 
had agreed amongst themselves to pay no 



18 THE WHITE HOUSE. 

first visits to any person except the Pres- 
ident of tlie United States. He declared 
tliat lie repudiated the claim on the pa)t of 
the Senators, and that he would pay no iirst 
calls himself as beina* due from him or his 
family. Mr. Adams was severely criticised 
for his aristocratic views, and the contio- 
versv went on as warmlv as before. The 
result, a few years later, was, that all 
parties interested agreed ui)on a code, which 
is now in force, and which may V)e stated as 
follows, as far as the AVhite House is con- 
cerned : 

THE CODE. 

The title of the Executive is Ah\ Pres- 
ident, It is not pi'oper to address him in 
conversation as Your Excellency. 

The President receives calls upon matters 
of business at any hour, if he is unengaged. 
He prefers that such visits should be made 
in the moining. Stated times are appointed 
for receiving persons who wish to pay their 
respects to him. One moi*ning and one 
evening in each week are usually set apart 
for this purpose. 

During the winter season, a public recep- 
tion, or levee, is held once a week, at which 
guests are expected to a])penr in full dress. 
They are presented by the Usher on such 
occasions, and have the honor of shaking 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 19 

hands with tlie President, These receptions 
last from eight until ten o'clock. 

On the 1st of January of each year, the 
President holds a public reception, at which 
the Foreign Ministers present in the city 
appear in full coui-t di'ess, and the officers 
of the Army and Navy in full uniform. The 
Heads of Departments, Governors of States, 
and Members of Congress are received first, 
then the Diplomatic Corps, then the officers 
of the Army and Navy, and then the doors 
are thrown o|)en to the public generally for 
the space of two hours. 

The President, as such, must not be in- 
vited to dinner by any one, and accepts no 
such invitations, and pays no calls or visits 
of ceremony. He may visit in his private 
capacity, however, at pleasure. 

An invitation to dine at the White House 
takes precedence of all others, and a ])re- 
vious engagement must not be pleaded as 
an excuse for declining it. Such an invita- 
tion must be promptly accepted in writing. 

THE PRESIDENT'S RECEPTIONS. 

The levees held by the President differ in 
nothing from those of Mr. Monroe's time, 
described a few pages back, except that the 
East Eoom is now finished, and the whole 
magnificent suite of apartments is used. 
The elite of the land are present, but the 



20 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



infamous are also there in the persons of 
those who live by plundering the public 
treasury. 

The President stands in one of the smaller 
parlors, generally in the Ked or Blue Room. 
He. is surrounded by his Cabinet, and the 
most distinguished men in the land. Near 
him stands his wife, daughter, or some 
relative representing the mistress of the 
mansion. Visitors enter from the hall, and 
are presented to the President by the Usher, 
who first asks their names, residences, and 
avocations. The President shakes each one 
by the hand cordially, utters a few pleasant 
words in reply to the greeting of his guest, 
and the visitor passes on into the next I'oom, 
to make way for those behind him. Before 
doing so, however, he is presented to the 
lady of the house, to whom he pays his re- 
spects also. This regular routine goes on 
for the space of two hours, when it is 
brought to an end, the President devoutly 
thanking Heaven that it does not last all 
night. 

These levees are no doubt very interesting 
to the guests, but they are the bugbears of 
the President and his family. The former is 
obliged by custom to shake hands with 
every man presented to him, and when the 
levee is over, his right hand is often bruised 
and swollen. It is said that some of the 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 21 

Presidents have suffered severely from tliis 
species of torture, and that General Hai*- 
I'ison's death was to some degree hastened 
by it. 

President Arthur being a w^idower, and 
having no grown-up daughter, his sister, 
Mrs. McElroy, acted as lady of the White 
House, and her amiable way of making 
everybody at home, even at the receptions 
of the Diplomatic Corps and distinguished 
foreigners, will be gratefully remembered 
by all who have been honored by an invi- 
tation. 

The semi-annual receptions of the Pres- 
ident — New Year's Day and the Fourth of 
Julv — are brilliant affairs. At a little before 
eleven o'clock in the morning, the ap- 
proaches to the Executive Mansion are 
thronged with the spendid equipages of the 
various Cabinet officers and Foreign Minis- 
ters. The entrance at such times is by the 
main door, and the exit through one of the 
larG:e north windows of the East Room, in 
front of which a temporary platform is 
erected. The customs upon such occasions 
vary slightly with each administration. In 
the description given here, the order ob- 
served at the reception of the President, 
January 1, 1884, is followed. 

The East Eoom and the other parlors are 
handsomelv decorated with flowers and 



22 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



other ornaments, the full Marine Band is 
in attendance to furniish music for the 
promenaders in the East Koom, and a 
strong i^olice force is present to preserve 
order when the people are admitted en 
masse. 

At a few minutes before eleven o'clock, 
the President and the ladies of the White 
House, in full dress, take their places in 
the Blue Eoom, the President standing near 
the door leading into the Eed Koom, and 
the ladies in the centre of the Bhie Koom. 
The President is attended by either the 
Commissioner of Public Buihiings, or tlie 
Marshal of the District of Columbia, Avhose 
duty it is to present the guests to him. A 
gentleman is also appointed to attend the 
ladies for the puipose of ])resenting the 
guests to them. 

Precisely at eleven o'clock the doors are 
thrown open, and the reception begins. The 
Cabinet Ministers and their families are ad- 
mitted first, and after they have passed on 
into the East Koom, through the Green Par- 
lor, the Secretary of State remains and pre- 
sents the Foreign Ministers and their fauii- 
lies. They are followed by the Justices of 
the Supreme Court and their families. Then 
come the Senators and Kei)resentatives in 
Congress and their famiUes. The next in 
order are the officers of the Armv, then the 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 23 

officers of the Navy and Marine Corps, in 
full uniform, and then the officials of the 
District of Cohimbia. These personages 
generally occupy the first hour. The doors 
are then opened to the public, and the next 
two hours are devoted to receiving them. 
Several thousand persons are presented 
during this period. They say a few pleas- 
ant words to the President, receive a brief 
reply, and pass on. 

The pi'omenaders in the East Room often 
linger in tliat apartment during the whole 
reception. The scene is brilliant, the toi- 
lettes are magnificent, the uniforms and court 
dresses attractive, and the music fine. At a 
little after two o'clock the parlors are de- 
serted, and the gay throng has sought other 
attractions. 

Besides these public levees, the ladies of 
the White House hold receptions at stated 
periods, to which invitations are regularly 
issued. The President sometimes ap[)ear8 
upon these occasions, but is under no obli- 
gation to do so. 

During tiie first two years of the adminis- 
tration of Mr." Lincoln, he always selected a 
lady to join the promenade with him at his 
evening receptions, thus leaving his wife free 
to choose an escort fi:om the distinguished 
throng which always surrounded heron such 
occasions. This custom did not please Mis 



24 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 



Lincoln, who resolved to put a stop to it 
She declared the practice absurd. "On such 
occasions," said she, "our guests recognize 
the position of the President as first of all ; 
consequently he takes the lead in every- 
thing; well, now, if they recognize his posi- 
tion, they should also recognize mine. I am 
his wife, and should lead with him. And 
yet he offers his arm to any other lady in the 
room, making her first with him, and placing 
me second. The custom is an absurd one, 
and 1 mean to abolish it. The dignity that 
I owe to my position, as Mrs. President, de- 
mands that 1 should not hesitate any longer 
to act." 

The spirited lady kept her word. Ever 
after this, she either led the piomenade with 
the President, or that diofnitarv walked alone 
or in company with some gentleman. 

It has long been the custom for the Presi- 
dent to give a series of State dinners during 
the session of Congress, to which the various 
members of that bodv, the hi2;her Govern- 
ment officials, and the Diplonuitic Corps are 
invited. In order to be able to entertain 
each one of these celebrities it is necessary 
to give about two dinners per week. The 
custom was not much observed durino: Mi*. 
Lincoln's administration, though it has been 
revived by his successor. 



THE WHITE HOUSE. 25 

IMPERTINENT GOSSIP. 

Tlie President and his family are much 
annoyed by the impertinent curiosity of 
which they are tlie objects. There are scores 
of persons in Washington, some of whom are 
doul)tless well-meaning people, \vho are so 
ignorant of the common decencies of society, 
as to seek to lay bare before the public eveiy 
incident of the private life of the family at 
the White House. The whole city rings with 
gossip upon this topic, much of wliich finds 
its way into the columns of the newspaper 
press in various parts of the land, to the 
great annoyance of its victims. There are 
people who can tell you how the President 
gets out of bed in the moining, how he 
dresses, breakfasts, picks his teeth, what he 
talks about in the piivacy of his family, and 
a thousand and one other such private de- 
tails, until you turn from your informant 
with the most intense disgust. It is said 
that much of this comes from the servants 
employed in the Executive Mansion, who 
seem to think it adds to their importance to 
retail such scandal. Every year this goes 
on, and every new occupant of the Whito 
House is subjected to such persecution. 

10 



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liiif 



Appendix C. 



Mf I'LT OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 
IN EACH STATE OF THE UNION. 

The reader will find in the following pages the 
names of the candidates for President tliat each 
State has voted for at every Presidential election. 
Taking the Federalist party as the root of the 
Republican party, it is traced through the Loose 
Constructionist, National Republican and Whig 
parties to 1856, when the present Republican 
party presented Fremont, its first Presidential 
candidate. Taking the Republican party, as or- 
ganized by Jefferson, as the root of the Democratic 
party, it is traced through the Strict Construction- 
ist party to 1828, when the present Democratic 
party presented Jackson, its first Presidential can- 
didate. 

Alabama. — First Presidential election, 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict 
Constructionist (Dem.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 
1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Van Buren, Dem- 
ocrat. 1840, Van Buren, Democrat. 1844, Polk, 
Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 1852, Pierce, 
Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, 
Breckinridge, Democrat. 1864, under military 
rule, no election. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 

rn 



2 APPENDIX C. 

Grant, Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, 
Hancock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Arhmsas. — First Presidential election, 1836, 
Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Van Buren, Demo- 
crat. 1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Demo- 
crat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, 
Democrat. 1860, Breckinridge, Democrat. 1864, 
no election. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, 
Hancock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

California. — First Presidential election, 1852, 
Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 
1860, Lincoln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, Repub- 
lican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, 
Republican. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 1880, 
Hancock, Democrat. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

Colorado. — First Presidential election, 1876, 
Hayes, Rep. 1880, Garfield, Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Connecticut. — One of the original thirteen States. 
1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) ] 792, Wash- 
ington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, Federal- 
ist (Rep.) 1800, Adams, Federalist (Rep). 1804, 
Pinckney, Federalist (Rep.) 1808, Pinckney, Fed- 
eralist (Rep.) 1812, De Witt Clinton, Federalist 
(Rep.) 1816, King, Federalist (Rep.) 1820, 
Mon«roe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, J. Q. Adams, 
Loose Constructionist (Rep.) 1828, J. Q. Adams, 
National Republican (Rep.) 1832, Henry Clay, 
National Republican (Rep.) 1836, Van Buren, 
Democrat. 1840, Harrison, Whig (Rep.j 1844, 



APPENDIX C. 3 

Henry Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, Whig 
(Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Fremont, 
Republican. 1860, Lincoln, R-^piiblican. 1864, 
Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 
1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

Delaware. — One of the original States. 1789, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1792, Washington, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 
1800, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 1804, 1808, Pinck- 
ney. Federalist (Rep.) 1812, DeWittClinton, Feder- 
alist (Rep.) 1816, King, Federalist (Rep.) 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Crawford, Strict 
Constructionist (Dem.) ; Adams received one of 
the three electoral votes of the State. 1828, J. Q. 
Adams, National Republican (Rep.) 1832, Clay, 
National Republican (Rep.) 1836, Harrison, Wliig 
(Rep.) 1840, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1844, Clay, 
Whig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, 
Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 
1860, Breckinridge, Democrat. 1864, McClellan, 
Democrat. 1868, Seymour, Democrat. 1872, Grant, 
Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Han- 
cock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Florida. — First Presidential election, 1848, Tay- 
lor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, 
Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Breckinridge, Dem- 
ocrat. 1864, no election. 1868, no election. 
1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, Repub- 
lican (electoral commission decision). 1880, Han- 
cock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 



4 APPENDIX C. 

Georgia. — One of the original States. 1789, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1792, Washington, 
Federahst (Rep.) 179G, Jefferson, Republican 
(Deni.) 1800, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1804, 
Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Madison, Re- 
publican (Dem.) 1812. Madison, Republican (Dem.) 
1816, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, 
Republican (Dem.) 1824, Crawford, Strict Con- 
structionist (Dem.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 
1832, Jackson, Democrat, 183G, White, Anti-Van 
Buren Democrat. 1840, Whig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, 
Democrat. 1848, Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, 
Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 
1860, Breckinridge, Democrat. 1864, no election. 
1868, Se^'mour, Democrat. 1872, Greeley, Dem- 
ocrat. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Hancock, 
Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Illinois, — First Presidential election, 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict 
Constructionist (Dem.), J. Q. x^dams, Loose Con- 
structionist (Rep.), receiving one of the three 
electoral votes of the State. ^828, Jackson, Dem- 
ocrat. 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Van 
Buren, Democrat. 1840, Van Buren, Democrat 
1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 
1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Demo- 
crat. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, 
Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes. Republican 
. 1880. Garfield, Republican. 188i, Blaine, Rep. 



APPENDIX C. 5 

Indiana. — First Presidential election, 1816, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Re{3ub- 
lican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict Construction- 
ist (Dem.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 1832, 
Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Harrison, Wiiig (Re[).) 
1840, Harrison, AVliig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, Demo- 
crat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Demo- 
crat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Lincoln, 
Republican. 1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, 
Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 
1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Garfield, Repub- 
lican. 1884, Cleveland. Democrat. 

Iowa. — First Presidential election, 1848, Cass, 
Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Fre- 
mont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Rep. 1868, Grant, Rep. 1872, 
Grant, Rep. 1876, Hayes, Rep. 1880, Garfield, 
Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Kansas. — First Presidential election, 1864, Lin- 
coln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 
1880, Garfield, Republican. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Kentucl'ij. — First Presidential election, 1792, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Jefferson, 
Republican (Dem.) 1800, JefTerson, Republican 
(Dem.) 1804, JefTerson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.), one electoral vote 
not cast. 1812, iVladison, Republican (Dem.) 
1816, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, 
Republican (Dem.) 1824, Clay, Loose Construe- 



6 APPENDIX C. 

tionist (Rep.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat (Dem.) 
1832, Clay, National Republican (Rep.) 1836, 
Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1840, Ilarrison, Whig 
(Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (R(>p.) 1848, Taylor"^, 
Whig (Rep.) 1852, Scott, Whig (Rep.) 1856, 
Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Bell, Constitutional 
Union. 1864, McClellan, Democrat. 1868, Sey- 
mour, Democrat. 1872, Greeley, Democrat. At 
the meeting of the electoral college, Mr. Greeley 
having died meantime, the electoral vote of the 
State was cast : eight for Hendricks and four for 
Brown. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Hancock, 
Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Louisiana. — First Presidential election, 1812, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Re- 
pu])lican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican 
(Deuj.) 1824, Jackson, Strict Constructionist 
(Dem.) Adams, Loose Constructionist (Rep.), re- 
ceived two of the five electoral votes of the State. 
1828, Jackson, Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Demo- 
crat. 1836, Jackson, Democrat. 1840, Harrison, 
Whig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Tay. 
lor. Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, 
Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Breckinridge, Demo- 
ernt. 1864, no election. 1868, Seyuiour, D^mho- 
crat. 1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, 
Republican — decision electoral commission. 1880, 
Hancock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland. Democrat. 

Maine. — First Presidential election, 1820, Mon- 
roe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Adams, Loose Con- 



APPENDIX C. 7 

structionist (Rep.) 1828, Adams, National Re- 
publican (Rep.) Jackson, Strict Constructionist 
(Dem.), received one of the eight electoral votes of 
the State. 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Van 
Buren, Democrat. 1840, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 
1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 
1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Fremont, Republi- 
can. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, 
Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 
1880, Garfield, Republican. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Maryland. — One of the original thirteen States. 
1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.), received six 
of the eight electoral votes of the State, two not 
cast. 1792, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, 
Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 1800, the ten electoral 
votes of the State were divided equally between 
Jefferson and Burr, both Republicans (Dems.) 
1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) Pinckney, 
Federalist (Rep.), received two of the eleven elec- 
toral votes of the State. 1808, Madison, Republi- 
can (Dem.) Pinckney, Federalist (Rep.), again 
received two of the eleven electoral votes of the 
State. 1812, Madison, Republican (Dem.) De 
Witt Clinton, Federalist (Rep.), received five of 
the eleven electoral votes of the State. 1816, 
ivlonroe. Republican (Dem.) ; three votes were not 
cast, Monroe receiving eight of the eleven. 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict 
Constructionist (Dem.), received seven; Adams, 



8 APPENDIX C. 

Loose Constructionist (Rop.), three, and Crawford, 
Strict Constructionist (Dem.), one of the electoral 
votes of the State. 1828, Adams, National Re- 
publican (Rep.), received six of the electoral votes 
of the State, and Jackson, Democrat, five. 1832, 
Clay, Loose Constructionist (Rep.), received five of 
the electoral votes of the State, and Jackson, Dem- 
ocrat, three. 1836, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1840, 
Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 
1848, Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Demo- 
crat. 185G, Fillmore, Know Nothing. 1860, 
Breckinridge, Democrat. 1864, Lincoln, Republi- 
can. 1868, Seytnour, Democrat. 1872, Greeley, 
Democrat. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Han- 
cock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

M(i8S((c]msetts. — First Presidential election, 1816, 
King, Federalist (Rep.) 1820, Monroe, Republi- 
can (Dem.) 1824, Adams, Loose Constructionist 
(Rep.) 1828, Adams, National Republican (Rep.) 
1832, Clay, National Republican (Rep.) 1836, 
Webster, Whig (Rep.) 1840, Harrison, Whig 
(Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, 
Whig (Rep.) 1852, Scott, Whig (Rep.) 1856, 
Fremont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Republi- 
can. 1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, Rep. 
1880, Garfield, Republican. 1884, Bhiine, Rep. 

Micliigan. — First Presidential election, 1836, Van 
Buren, Democrat. 1840, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 
1844, Polkj Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 



APPENDIX C. 9 

1852, Pierce, Democrat. 185G, Fremont, Republi- 
can. 18G0, Lincoln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, 
Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 
1880, Garfield, Republican. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Minnesota. — First Presidential election, 1860, 
Lincoln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, Republican. 
1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, Republi- 
can. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 1880, Garfield, 
Republican. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

Mississippi. — First Presidential election, 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.), one electoral vote not 
cast. 1824, Jackson, Strict Constructionist (Dem.) 
1828, Jackson, Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Demo- 
crat. 1836, Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Har- 
rison, Whig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, 
Cass, Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, 
Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Breckinridge, Demo- 
crat. 1864, no election. 1868, no election. 1872, 
Grant, Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

Missouri. — First Presidential election, 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Clay, Loose 
Constructionist (Rep.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 
1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Van Buren, 
Democrat. 1840, Van Buren, Democrat. 1844, 
Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 1852, 
Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 
1860, Douglas, Democrat. 1864, Lincoln, Re* 
publican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, Greeley, 



10 APPENDIX C. 

Democrat. In the electoral college the vote of the 
State was cast: for Hendricks, 9; Brown, 8; David 
Davis, 1. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Han- 
cock, DcMnocrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Nthraska. — First Presidential election, 18G8, 
Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 
1876, Hayes, Republican. 1880, Garfield, Re- 
publican. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

Nevada. — First Presidential election, 1864, Lin- 
coln, Republican ; one of the three votes not cast. 
1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1876, Hayes, Republican. 1880, Hancock, 
Democrat. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

New Hampshire. — One of the original thirteen 
States. 1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1792, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1800, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 
1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Pinck- 
ney, Federalist (Rep.) 1812, DeWitt Clinton, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1816, Monroe, Republican 
(Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) J. Q. 
Adams, Loose Constructionist, received one of the 
eight electoral votes of the State. 1824, Adams, 
Loose Constructionist. 1828, Adams, National Re- 
publican (Rep.) 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, 
Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Van Buren, Demo- 
crat. 1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Demo- 
crat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Fremont, 
Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 1864, 
Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 



APPENDIX C. 11 

1872, Grant, Kepublican. 1876, Hayes, Republi- 
can. 1880, Garfield, Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

New Jersey. — One of the original thirteen States. 
1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1792, Wash- 
ington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, Federalist 
(Rep.) 1800, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 1804, 
Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Madison, Re- 
publican (Dem.) 1812, DeWitt Clinton, Federalist 
(Rep.) 1816, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1820^ 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict 
Constructionist (Dem.) 1828, J. Q. Adams, Na- 
tional Republican (Rep.) 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 
1836, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1840, Harrison, 
Whig (Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, 
Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 
1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, Lincoln, Re- 
publican, received four of the electoral votes of the 
State, and Douglas, Democrat, three ; the latter 
had a majority of 4,477 on the popular vote of the 
State. 1864, McClellan, Dem. 1868, Seymour, 
Dem. 1872, Grant, Rep. 1876, Tilden, Dem. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

New York. — First Presidential election, 1792, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1800, Jefferson, Republican 
(Dem.) 1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.) George Clinton, Re- 
publican (Dem.), received six of the nineteen elec- 
toral votes of the State. 1812, DeWitt Clinton, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1816, Monroe, Republican 



12 APPENDIX C. 

(Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, 
J. Q. Adams, Loose Constructionist (Rep.), received 
.sixteen of the twenty-six electoral votes of the 
State; Jackson, Strict Constructionist (Dem.), re- 
ceived one ; Crawford, Strict Constructionist (Dem . ) , 
received five, and Clay, Loose Constructionist 
(Rep.), four. 1828, Jackson, Democrat, received 
twenty, and J. Q. Adams, National Republican 
(Rep.), sixteen electoral votes. 1832, Jackson, 
Democrat. 1S3G, Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, 
Harrison, AVhig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, Democrat. 
1848, Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Demo- 
crat. 185G, Fremont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, 
Republican. 1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, 
Seymour, Democrat. 1872, Grant, Republican. 
1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Garfield, Republi- 
can. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

North Carolhia. — First Presidential election, 
1792, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Jeffer- 
son, Republican (Dem.); Adams, Federalist (Rep.), 
received one of tlie twelve electoral votes. 1800, 
Jefferson, Republican (Dem.); Adams, Federalist 
(Rep.), received four of the twelve electoral votes. 
1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Madi- 
son, Republican (Dem.); Pinckney, Federalist 
(Rep.), received three of the fourteen votes. 1812, 
Madison, RepubHcan (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Re- 
publican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 
1824, Jackson, Strict Constructionist (Dem.) 1828, 
Jackson, Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 



APPENDIX C. 13 

1836, Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Harrison, 
Whig (Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, 
Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 
1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 18G0, Breckinridge, 
Democrat. 1864, no election. 1868, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1872, Grant, Rep. 1876, Tilden, Dem. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

Oliio. — First Presidential election, 1804, JefTur- 
son. Republican (Dem.) 1808, Madison, Repub- 
lican (Dem.) 1812, one vote not cast, Madison, 
Republican (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Republican 
(Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, 
Clay, Loose Constructionist (Rep.) 1828, Jackson, 
Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, 
Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1840, Harrison, Whig 
(Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, Cass, 
Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Fre- 
mont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1872, Grant, Rep. 1876, Hayes, Rep. 
1880, Garfield, Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

Oregon. — First Presidential election, 1860, Lin- 
coln, Republican. 1864, Lincoln, Republican. 
1868, Seymour, Democrat. 1872, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1876, liases. Republican. 1880, Garfield, 
Republican. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

Pennsylvania. — One of the thirteen original 
States. 1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 
1792, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Jef- 
ferson, Republican (Dem.) ; Adams, Federalist 



14 APPENDIX C. 

(Rep.), received one vote. 1800, Jefferson, Repub- 
licim (Dem.), received eight of the fifteen elec- 
toral votes of the State, and Adams seven. 1804, 
Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Madison, 
Republican (Dem.) 1812, Madison, Republican 
(Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1820, 
Monroe, Republican (Dem.) ; one vote not cast. 
1824, Jackson, Strict Constructionist (Dem.) 
1828, Jackson, Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Demo- 
crat. 1836, Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Har- 
rison, Whig (Rep.) 1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, 
Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 
1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 18G0, Lincoln, Re- 
publican. 1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, 
Grant, Republican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 
1876, Hayes, Republican. 1880, Garfield, Re- 
publican. 1884, Blaine, Republican. 

Rhode Island. — First Presidential election, 1792, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 1796, Adams, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1800, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 
1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, Pinck- 
ney. Federalist (Rep.) 1812, De Witt Clinton, 
Republican (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Republican 
(Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, 
J. Q. Adams, Loose Constractionist (Rep.) 1828, 
J. Q. Adams, National Republican (Rep.) 1832, 
Henry Clay, National Republican (Rep.) 1836, 
Van Buren, Democrat. 1840, Harrison, Whig 
(Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, 
Whig (Rep.) 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, 



APPENDIX C. 16 

Fremont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Ilaje.s, 
Rep. 1880, Garfield, Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 

South Carolina. — One of tbe oriuinal thirteen 
States. Presidential electors elected by State Leg- 
islature until 1868. 1789, Washington, Federalist 
(Rep.) 1792, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 
1796, Jefferson, Republican (Deni.) 1800, Jeffer- 
son, Republican (Dern.) 1804, Jefferson, Repub- 
lican (Dem.) 1808, Madison, Republican (Dem.) 
1812, Madison, Republican (Dern.) 1816, Monroe, 
Republican (Dem.) 1820, Monroe, Republican 
(Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict Constructionist 
(Dem.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 1832, John 
Floyd, Democrat. 1836, Mangum, Democrat. 
1840, Van Buren, Democrat. 1844, Polk, Demo- 
crat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 18-32, Pierce, Dem- 
ocrat. 1856, Buchanan, Democrat. 1860, . 

1864, no election. 1868, Grant, Republican. 
1872, Grant, Republican. 1873, Hayes, Rep. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

Tennessee. — First Presidential election 1796, Jef- 
ferson, Republican (Dem.) 1800, Jefferson, Re- 
publican (Dem) 1804. Jefferson, Republican 
(Dein.) 1808, Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1812, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Re- 
publican (Dem.), one vote not cast. 1820, Mon- 
roe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Jackson, Strict 

Constructionist (Dem.) 1828, Jackson, Democrat. 
11 



16 APPENDIX C. 

1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Hugh L. White, 
Democrat. 1840, Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1844, 
Clay, Wliig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, Whig (Rep.) 
1852, Scott, Whig (Rep.) 1856, Buchanan, Dem- 
ocrat. 1860, Bell, Constitutional Union. 1864, no 
election. 1868, Grant, Republican. 1872, Greeley, 
Democrat. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Han- 
cock, Democrat. 1884. Cleveland, Democrat. 

Texas. — First Presidential election, 1848, Cass, 
Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Bu- 
chanan, Democrat. 1860, Breckinridge, Democrat. 
1864, no election. 1868, no election. 1872, 
Greeley, Democrat. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 
1880, Hancock, Dem. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Vermont. — First Presidential election, 1792, 
Washington, Federalist (Rep.), one vote not cast. 
1796, Adams, Federalist (Rep.) 1800, Adams, 
Federalist (Rep.) 1804, Jefferson, Republican 
(Dem.) 1808, Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1812, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1816 Monroe, Re- 
publican (Dem.) 1824, J. Q. Adams, Loose Con- 
structionist. 1828, J. Q. Adams, National Repub- 
lican. 1832, William AVirt, Anti-Masonic. 1836, 
Harrison, Whig (Rep.) 1840, Harrison, Whig 
(Rep.) 1844, Clay, Whig (Rep.) 1848, Taylor, 
Whig (Rep.) 1852, Scott, Whig (Rep.) 1856, 
Fremont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, 
Rep. 188i), Garlield, Rep. 1884, Bhiine, Rep. 



APPENDIX C. 17 

Virginia. — One of the original thirteen States. 
1789, Washington, Federalist (Rep.), two votes 
not cast. 1792, Washington, Federalist (Rep.) 
1796, Jefferson, Republican (Dern.); Adams, Fed- 
eralist, received one of the twenty-two electoral 
votes of the State. 1800, Jefferson, Republican 
(Dem.) 1804, Jefferson, Republican (Dem.) 1808, 
Madison, Republican (Dem.) 1812, Madison, Re- 
publican (Dem.) 1816, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 
1820, Monroe, Republican (Dem.) 1824, Craw- 
ford, Strict Constructionist (Dem.) 1828, Jackson, 
Democrat. 1832, Jackson, Democrat. 1836, Van 
Buren, Democrat. 1840, Van Buren, Democrat. 
1844, Polk, Democrat. 1848, Cass, Democrat. 
1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, Buchanan, Demo- 
crat. 1860, Bell, Constitutional Union. 1864, 
no election. 1868, no election. 1872, Grant, Re- 
publican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 1880, Han- 
cock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Democrat. 

Vy^est Virginia. — First Presidential election, 1864, 
Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Republican. 
1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Tilden, Democrat. 
1880, Hancock, Democrat. 1884, Cleveland, Dem. 

Wisconsin. — First Presidential election, 1848. 
Cass, Democrat. 1852, Pierce, Democrat. 1856, 
Fremont, Republican. 1860, Lincoln, Republican. 
1864, Lincoln, Republican. 1868, Grant, Repub- 
lican. 1872, Grant, Republican. 1876, Hayes, 
Rep. 1880, Garfield, Rep. 1884, Blaine, Rep. 



Appendix D. 



THE PRESIDENTS AND THEIR 
CABINETS. 

The Postmaster-General was not recognized as a 
cabinet ofTicer until 1829. Tliose preceding tliis 
date are, however, included in the cabinets to show 
when they were appointed. 

First Adiuviistratiou — Washington, 1 789-1 793. 

President, George Washington, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, John Adams, of Massachusetts; Secre- 
tary of State, Tliomas Jefferson, of Virginia ; Secre^ 
tary of the Treasury, Alex, Hamilton, of New York 
Secretary of War, Henry Knox, of Massachusetts 
Attorney-General, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia 
Postmaster-General, Timothy Pickering, of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Second Administration — Washington^ 1 793- 1 797. 

President, George Washington, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, John Adams, of Massachusetts; Secre- 
tary of State, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, to 
January, 1794, Edmund' Randolph, of Virginia, to 
December, 1795, Timothy Pickering, of Massar 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander 

(1) 



2 ' APPENDIX D. 

Hamilton, of New York, to February, 1795, Olivei 
VYolcott, of Connecticut; Secretary of War, Henry 
Knox, of Massachusetts, to January, 1795, Timothy 
Pickering, of Massachusetts, to January, 1796, 
James McHenry, of Marykmd; Attorney-General, 
Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, to January, 1794, 
William Bradford, of Pennsylvania, to December, 
1795, Charles Lee, of Virginia; Postmaster-General, 
Joseph Habersham, of Georgia. 

Third Admi?iistj^aimt — Adams, 1 797- 1 80 1 . 

President, John Adams, of Massachusetts ; Vice> 
President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Secretary 
of State, Timothy Pickering, of Massachusetts, to 
May, 1800, John Marshall, of Virginia; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, of Massachusetts, 
to January, 1801; Secretary of War, James Mc- 
Henry, of Maryland, to May, 1800, Roger Gris- 
wold, of Connecticut; Secretary of the Navy, 
George Cabot, of Massachusetts, to March, 1798, 
Benj. Stoddert, of Maryland ; Attorney-General, 
Charles Lee, of Virginia, to February, 1801, Theo. 
Parsons, of Massachusetts; Postmaster-General, 
Gideon Granger, of Connecticut. 

Fourth Administration — Jefferson, 1 80 1 - 1 805 . 

President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Aaron Burr, of New York ; Secretary 
of State, James Madison, of Virginia; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania ; 



APPENDIX D. 3 

Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Navy, Robert Smith, 
of Maryland ; Attorney-General, Levi Lincoln, of 
Massachusetts. 

FiftJi Administration — jfefftrson, 1 805-1 809. 

President, Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, George Clinton, of New York ; Secretary 
of State, James Madison, of Virginia ; Secretary of 
the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania; 
Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Navy, Jacob Crownin- 
shield, of Massachusetts ; Attorney-General, Robert 
Smith, of Maryland, to xlugust, 1805, John Breck- 
inridge, of Kentucky, to January, 1807, Csesar A. 
Rodney, of Pennsylvania. 

Sixth Administration — Madison, 1 809- 1 8 1 3. 

President, James Madison, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, George Clinton, of New York ; Secre- 
tary of State, Robert Smith, of Maryland, to April, 
1811, James Monroe, of Virginia; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania ; Secre- 
tary of War, William Eustis, of Massachusetts, to 
January, 1813, John Armstrong, of New York ; 
Secretary of the Navy, Paul Hamilton, of South 
Carolina, to January, 1813, William Jones, of 
Pennsylvania ; Attorney-General, Caesar A. Rod- 
ney, of Pennsylvania, to December, 1811, William 
Pinckney, of Maryland. 



4 APPENDIX D. 

Seventh Adininistratio7i — Madison^ 1813-1817. 

President, James Madison, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts ; Secre- 
tary of State, James Monroe, of Virginia ; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, 
to February, 1814, George W. Campbell, of Ten- 
nessee, to October, 1814, Alex. James Dallas, of 
Pennsylvania, to October, 1816, William H. Craw- 
ford, of Georgia; Secretary of War, James Monroe, 
to August, 1815, William II. Crawford, of Georgia; 
Secretary of the Navy, William P. Jones, of Penn- 
sylvania, to December, 1814, B. W. Crow^ninshield, 
of Massachusetts; Attorney -General, William 
Pinckney, of Maryland, to February, 1814, Eichard 
Rush, of Pennsylvania; Postmaster-General, Return 
J. Meigs, of Ohio. 

Eighth Administration — Monroe, 1 8 1 7- 1 82 1 . 

President, James Monroe, of Virginia; Vice- 
President, Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York; 
Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, William H. 
Crawford, of Georgia; Secretary of War, Isaac 
Shelby, of Kentucky, to April, 1817, George 
Graham, of Virginia, to October, 1817, John C. Cal- 
houn, of South Carolina; Secretary of the Navy, 
B. W. Crowninshield, of Massachusetts, to Novem- 
ber, 1818, Smith Thompson, of New York; Attor- 
ney-General, Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, to 
Nov€mber, 1817, Wm. Wirt, of Virginia. 



APPENDIX D. 5 

Ninth Administration — Monroe, 1 8 2 1 - 1 8 2 5 . 

President, James Monroe, of Virginia; Yice- 
President^ Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York; 
Secretary of State, Jolm Quincy Adams, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, William If. 
Crawford, of Georgia ; Secretary of War, John C. 
Calhoun, of South Carolina ; Secretary of the Navy, 
Smith Thompson, of New York, to September, 
1823, Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey; Attor- 
ney-General, William Wirt, of Virginia; Post- 
master-General, John McLean, of Ohio. 

Tenth Administration — y. Q. Adatns, 1 825-1 829. 

President, John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts 
Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina 
Secretary of State, Henry Clay, of Kentucky 
Secretary of the Treasury, Richard Rush, of Penn- 
sylvania; Secretary of War, James Barbour, of 
Virginia, to May, 1828, Peter B. Porter, of New 
York ; Secretary of the Navy, Samuel L. Southard, 
of New Jersey ; Attorney-General, William Wirt, 
of Virginia. 

Eleventh Administration — Jackson, 1 8 29- 1 8 3 3 . 
President, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee ; Vice- 
President, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; 
Secretary of State, Martin Van Buren, to May, 
1831, Edward Livingston, of Louisiana; Secretary 
of the Treasury, Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsyl- 
vania, to August, 1831, Louis McLane, of Dela- 



APPENDIX D. 

ware; Secretary of War, John H. Eaton, of Ten- 
nessee, to August, 1831, Lewis Cass, oi" Ohio; 
Secretary of the Navy, John Branch, of North 
Carohna, to May, 1831, Levi Woodbury, of New 
Hampshire; Attorney-General, John M. Berrien, 
of Georgia, to July, 1831, Roger B. Taney, of 
Maryhmd ; Postmaster-General, William T. Barry, 
of Kentucky. 

Tzvclfth Administration — jfackson^ i S 3 3- 1 8 3 /. 

President, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee ; Vice- 
President, Martin Van Buren, of New York; Sec- 
retary of State, Louis McLane, of Delaware, to 
June, 1834 ; Secretary of the Treasury, William 
J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, to September, 1833, 
Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, to June, 1834, Levi 
Woodbury, of New Hampshire ; Secretary of War, 
Lewis Cass, of Ohio ; Secretary of the Navy, Louis 
Woodbury, of New Hampshire, to June, 1834, 
Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey ; Postmaster- 
General, William T. Barry, of Kentucky, to May, 
1835, Ainos Kendall, of Kentucky; Attorney- 
General, Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, to Novem- 
ber, 1833, Benjamin F. Butler, of New York. 

Tliirtccfith Admiyiistration — Van Bur en , 1 8 3 7- 1 84 1 . 

President, Martin Van Buren, of New York 
Vice-President, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentuckv 
Secretary of State, John Forsyth, of Georgia 
Secretary of the Treasury, Levi Woodbury, of 



APPENDIX D. 7 

New Hampshire; Secretar}^ of War, Benjamin F. 
Butler, of New York, to March, 1837, Joel K. 
Poinsett, of South Carolina; Secretary of the 
Navy, Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, to June, 
1838, James K. Paulding, of New Jersey; Post- 
master-General, Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, to 
May, 1840, John M. Niles, of Connecticut; At- 
torney-General, Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, 
to July, 1838, Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, to 
January, 1840, Henry D. Gilpin, of Pennsylvania. 

FoiirtccniJi Adjuinistration — Harrison^ Tyler, 1 841-1845. 

President, William Henry Harrison, of Ohio; 
Vice-President, John Tyler, of Virginia; Secretary 
of State, Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, to 
May, 1843, Plugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, to 
July, 1843, Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, to March, 
1844, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina; Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, to 
September, 1841, John C. Spencer, of New York, 
to June, 1844, George M. Bibb, of Kentucky; 
Secretary of War, John Bell, of Tennessee, to 
September, 1841, John C. Spencer, of New York, 
to March, 1843, James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, 
to February, 1844, then William Wilkens, of 
Pennsjdvania; Secretary of the Navy, George E. 
Badger, of North Carolina, to September, 1841^ 
Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, to July, 1843, Daniel 
Henshaw, of Massachusetts, to February, 1844, 
Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia, to March, 1844, 



b APPENDIX D. 

then John Y. Mason, of Virginia; Postmaster- 
General, Francis Granger, of New York, to Sep- 
tember, 1841, then Charles A. Wickliffe, of Ken- 
tucky; Attorney-General, Jolin J. Crittenden, of 
Kentucky, to September, 1841, Hugh S. Legare, 
of South Carolina, to July, 1843, then John Nel- 
son, of Maryland. 

FifteentJi Administration — Polk^ 1 845- 1849. 

President, James K. Polk, of Termessee ; Vice- 
President, George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania; 
Secretary of State, James Buchanan, of Pennsyl- 
vania; Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J. 
Walker, of Mississippi ; Secretary of War, William 
L. Marcy, of New York ; Secretary of the Navy, 
George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, to September, 
184G, then John Y. Mason, of Virginia; Post- 
master-General, Cave Johnson, of Tennessee ; At- 
torney-General, John Y. Mason, of Virginia, to 
October, 1846, Nathan Clifford, of Maine, to June, 
1848, then Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut. 

Sixteenth A dininistratioii — Taylor, Fillmore, 1 849- 1853. 

President, Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana; Vice- 
President, Millard Fillmore, of New York; Secre- 
tary of State, John M. Clayton, of Delaware, to 
July, 1850, Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, to 
December, 1852, then Edward Everett, of Massa- 
chusetts; Secretary of the Treasury, William M. 
Meredith, to July, 1850, then Thomas Corwin, of 



APPENDIX D. 9 

Ohio; Secretary of War, George W. Crawford, of 
Georgia, to July 20, 1850, Edward Bates, of Mis- 
souri, to July 23, 1850, Winfield Scott, of Vir- 
ginia, to August, 1850, then Charles M. Conrad, 
of Louisiana ; Secretary of the Navy, William B. 
Preston, of Virginia, to July, 1850, William A. 
Graham, of North Carolina, to July, 1852, then 
John P. Kennedy, of Maryland ; Secretary of the 
Interior, Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, to July, 1850, 
James A. Pierce, of Maryland, to August, 1850, 
Thomas M. T. McKennan, of Pennsylvania, to 
September, 1850, tlien Alexander H. H. Stuart, of 
Virginia; Postmaster-General, Jacob Collamer, of 
Vermont, to July, 1850, Nathan K. Hall, of New 
York, to August, 1852, then Samuel D. Hubbard, 
of Connecticut; Attorney-General, Reverdy John- 
^ son, of Maryland, to July, 1850, then John J. 
Crittenden, of Kentucky. 

Seventeenth Administratmi — Pierce, 1 8 5 3- 1 8 5 /. 

President, Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire; 
Vice-President, William R. King, of Alabama; 
Secretary of State, William L. Marcy, of New 
York ; Secretary of the Treasury, James Guthrie, 
of Kentucky ; Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, 
of Missis8ipj)i ; Secretary of the Navy, James C. 
Dobbin, of North Carolina; Secretary of the In- 
terior, Robert McClelland, of Michigan; Post- 
master-General, James Campbell, of Pennsylvania; 
Attorney-General, Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts. 



10 APPENDIX D. 

Eig hteenth Adminisiration — Buchajtan, 1 8 5 7- 1 86 1 . 

President, James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania-, 
Vice-President, John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky; 
Secretary of State, Lewis Cass, of Michigan, to 
March, 1857, then Jeremiah Black, of Pennsylva- 
nia ; Secretary of the Treasury, Howell Cobb, of 
Georgia, to December, 1860, Phillip F. Thomas, 
of Maryland, to January, 1861, then John A. Dix, 
of New York; Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, 
of Virginia, to January, 1861, then Josepli Holt, 
of Kentucky ; Secretary of the Navy, Isaac 
Toucey, of Connecticut; Secretary of the Interior, 
Jacob Thompson ; Postmaster-General, Aaron V. 
Brown, of Tennessee, to March, 1859, Joseph 
Holt, of Kentucky, to February, 1861, then Hora- 
tio King, of Maine; Attorney-General, Jeremiah 
S- Black, of Pennsylvania, to December, 1860, then 
Edwin M. Stanton, of Pennsylvania. 

Nineteenth Administration — Lincoln, 1 86 1 - 1 865 . 

President, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois; Vice- 
President, Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine ; Secretary 
of State, William H. Sew^ard, of New York; Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, 
to July, 1864, then William Pitt Fessenden, of 
Maine ; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, of 
Pennsylvania, to January, 1862, then Edwin M. 
Stanton, of Pennsylvania; Secretary of the Navy, 
Gideon Welles, of Connecticut; Secretary of the 
Interior, Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, to January, 



APPENDIX D. 1] 

1863, then John P. Usher, of Indiana; Postmaster- 
General, Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, to Sep- 
tember, 1864, then William Dennison, of Ohio; 
Attorney-General, Edward Bates, of Missouri, to 
June, 1863, T. J. Coffey, of Pennsylvania, to De- 
cember, 1864, then James Speed, of Kentucky. 

Twentieth Administration — Lincoln^ Johnson, 1 865-1 869. 

President, Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois; Vice- 
President, Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee; Secre- 
tary of State, William II. Seward, of New York; 
Secretary of the Treasury, Hugh McCulloch, of 
Indiana; Secretary of War, Edw^in M. Stanton, 
of Pennsylvania, to August, 1867, U. S. Grant, of 
Illinois, to February, 1868, Lorenzo Thomas, of 
Delaware, to May, 1868, then John M. Schofield, 
of Illinois; Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, 
of Connecticut; Secretary of the Interior, John P. 
Usher, of Indiana, to May, 1865, James Harlan, 
of Iowa, to July, 1866, then 0. H. Browning, of 
Illinois; Postmaster-General, William Dennison, 
of Ohio, to July, 1866, then Alexander W. Ran- 
dall, of Wisconsin; Attorney-General, James Speed, 
of Kentucky, to July, 1866, Henry Stanberry, of 
Ohio, to July, 1868, then William M. Evarts, of 
New York. 

Twenty-first Adfuinistration — Grant, 1 869-1 873. 

President, U. S. Grant, of Illinois; Vice-Presi- 
dent, Schuyler Colfax^ of Indiana; Secretary of 



12 APPENDIX D. 

State, E. B. Washbnrne, of Illinois, to March, 
1869, then Hamilton Fish, of New York ; Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, George S. Boutwell, of Mas- 
sachusetts; Secretary of War, John A. Rawlins, 
of Illinois, to September, 18G9, then William T. 
Sherman, of Ohio, to October, 18G9, then William 
W. Belknap, of Iowa; Secretary of the Navy, 
Adolph E. Borie, of Pennsylvania, to June, 1869, 
then George M. Robeson, of New Jersey; Secre- 
tary of the Interior, Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, to No- 
vember, 1870, then Columbus Delano, of Ohio; 
Postmaster-General, John A. J. Creswell, of Mary- 
land ; Attorney-General, E. Rockwood Hoar, of 
Massachusetts, to June, 1870, Amos T. Akerman, 
of Georgia, to December, 1861, then George H. 
Williams, of Oregon. 

Tzventy-scco7id Administration — Grant, 1 87 3- 1 877. 

President, U. S. Grant, of Illinois; Vice-Presi- 
dent, Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts; Secretary 
of State, Hamilton Fish, of New York; Secretary 
of the Treasury, William A. Richardson, of Mas- 
sachusetts, to June, 1874, Benjamin F. Bristow, 
of KenUicky, to June, 1876, then Lot M. Morrill, 
of Maine; Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, 
of Iowa, to March, 1876, Alphonso Taft, of Ohio, 
to May, 1876, then Donald Cameron, of Pennsyl- 
vania; Secretary of the Navy, George M. Robe- 
fon, of New Jersey; Secretary of the Interior, 
Columbus Delano, of Ohio, to October, 1875, then 



APPENDIX D. 15 

Zach«iriah Chandler, of Michigan; Postmaster- 
General, John A. J. Creswell, of Maryland, to 
August, 1874, Marshall Jewell, of Connecticut, to 
July, 1876, then James M. Tyner, of Indiana; 
Attorney-General, George H. Williams, of Oregon, 
to April, 1875, Edward Pierrepont, of New York, 
to May, 1876, then Alphonso Taft, of Ohio. 

Twe7ity-third A dtninistration — Hayes, 1 8 7 7- 1 8 8 1 . 

President, Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio; Vice- 
President, William A. Wheeler, of New York; 
Secretary of State, William M. Evarts, of New 
York; Secretary of the Treasur}^, John Sherman, 
of Ohio; Secretary of W^ar, George W. McCrary, 
of Iowa, to December, 1879, then Alexander 
Ramsey, of Minnesota; Secretary of the Navy, 
Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana, to January, 
1881, then Nathan Goff, of West Virginia; Secre- 
tary of the Interior, Carl Schurz, of Missouri; 
Postmaster-General, David McKey, of Teiniessee, 
to August, 1880, then Horace Maynard, of Tennes- 
see; Attorney-General, Charles Devens, of Massa- 
chusetts. 

Twenty-fourth Administration — Garfield ^ Arthur ^ 
1881-1885. 

President, James A. Garfield, of Ohio; Vice- 
President, Chester A. Arthur, of New York; Sec- 
retary of State, James G. Blaine, of Maine, to 

September, 1881, then Frederick Frelinghuysen. 
12 



14 APPENDIX D. 

of New Jersey; Secretary of the Treasury, Wil- 
liam Windom, of Minnesota, to September, 1881, 
then Charles Folger, of New York; Secretary of 
War, Robert Lincoln, of Illinois; Secretary of 
the Navy, William L. Hunt, of Louisiana, to 
April, 1882, then William Chandler, of New 
Hampshire ; Secretary of the Interior, Samuel J 
Kirkwood, of Iowa, to April, 1882, then Henry F. 
Teller, of Colorado ; Postmaster-General, Thomas 
L. James, of New York, to October, 1881, Timothy 
0. Howe, of Wisconsin, to October, 1883, then 
Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana; Attorney-General, 
Wayne McVeagh, of Pennsylvania, to September, 
1881, then Benjamin H. Brewster, of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Twenty fifth Adim?iistration — Cleveland, Hendricks, 
iS8s-iS88. 

President, Grover Cleveland, of New York; (the 
Vice-Presidency is vacant, hy reason of the death 
of Mr. Hendricks;) Secretary of State, Thomas 
Francis Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Charles S. Fairchild, of New York; Sec- 
retary of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachu- 
setts ; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, of 
Wisconsin; Attorney-General, Augustus H. Gar- 
land, of Arkansas ; Secretary of the Navy, William 
C. Whitney, of New York ; Secretary of the In- 
terior, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mississippi. Mr. 
Fairchild succeeded Daniel II. Manning as Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. Don. M. Dickinson, of Mich- 
igan, succeeded Mr. Vilas as Postmaster-General. 
Mr. Vilas succeeded Mr. Lamar as Secretary of the 
Interior. Mr. Lamar was elevated to the Supreme 
Court. 



Appendix E. 



HOW STATES WERE REPRESENTED IN 
PRESIDENTIAL AND CABINET OFFICES. 

The subjoined statement shows the Presidential 
and Cabinet offices held by the different States of 
the Union from the organization of the government 
to the present time. 

Alabama. 
One Vice-President — King. 

Colorado. 
One Secretary of Interior — Teller, 

Connecticut. 
One Secretary of Treasury — Wolcott; One Sec- 
retary of War — Griswold ; Two Secretaries of 
Navy — Toucey and Welles; One Attorney-General 
— Toucey; Four Postmasters-General — Granger, 
Niles, Hubbard and Jewell. 

Delaware. 
Three Secretaries of State — McLane, Clayton, 
and Bayard; One Secretary of Treasury— McLane; 
One Secretary of War — Thomas. 

Geoj'gia. 

One Secretary of State — Forsyth; Two Secre- 

15 



IQ APPENDIX E. 

taries of Treasury — Crawford and Cobb ; One Sec- 
retary of War — Crawford ; Two Attorneys-General 
— Berrien and Akerman ; One Postmaster-General 

— Habersham. 

Illinois. 

Two Presidents — Lincoln and Grant ; One Sec- 
retary of State — Washburne ; Four Secretaries of 
War — Grant, Schofield, Rawlins and Robert Lin- 
coln ; One Secretary of Interior — Browning. ' 

Indiafia. 

Two Vice-Presidents — Colfax, Hendricks ;, One 

Secy of Treasury — McCulloch; OneSec'yof Navy — 

Thompson; Two Secretaries of Interior — Smith 

and Usher ; Two Postmasters-General — Tyner and 

Gresham. 

Iowa. 

Two Secretaries of War — Belknap and McCrary ; 
Secretaries of Interior — Harlan and Kirkwood. 

Kentucky. 

Two Vice-Presidents — Johnson and Breckin- 
ridge ; One Secretary of State — Clay ; Three Sec- 
retaries of Treasury — Bibb, Guthrie and Bristow ; 
Two Secretaries of War — Shelby and Holt ; Three 
Attornej's-General — Breckinridge, Crittenden and 
Speed; Four Postmasters-General — Barry, Kendall, 
Wicklille and Holt. 

Louisiana. 

One President — Taylor; One Secretary of State — 
Livingston ; One Secretary of War — Conrad ; One 
Secretary of Navy — Hunt. 



APPENDIX E. 17 

Maine. 
One Vice-President — Hamlin; One Secretary 
of State — Blaine ; Two Secretaries of Treasury — 
Fessenden and Morrill ; One Attorney-General — 
Clifford ; One Postmaster-General — King. 

Maryland. 
One Secretary of State — Smith ; Two Secreta- 
ries of Treasury — Taney and Thomas; Two Sec- 
retaries of War — McHenry and Stoddard; Two 
Secretaries of Navy — Smith and Kennedy; Five 
Attorneys-General — Smith, Pinkney, Taney, John 
Nelson, and Johnson ; One Secretary of Interior — 
Pearce * Postmasters-General — Blair and Creswell. 

Massachusetts. 
Two Presidents — Adams and John Qumcy 
Adams; Three Vice-Presidents — Adams, Gerry 
and Wilson ; Five Secretaries of State — Pickering, 
John Quincy Adams, Webster, Marcy and Everett; 
Four Secretaries of Treasury — Wolcott, Dexter, 
Bout well and Richardson ; Five Secretaries of War 
— Knox, Pickering, Dexter, Dearborn and Eustis ; 
Five Secretaries of Navy — Cabot, J. Crowninshield, 
B. W. Crowninshield, Henshawand Bancroft; Five 
Attorneys-General — Parsons, Lincoln, Gushing, 
Hoar and Devens ; One Postmaster-General — 

Osgood 

Michigan. 

One Secretary of State — Cass ; Two Secretaries 
of Interior — McClelland and Chandler. 



23 APPENDIX E. 

Minnesota. 
One Secretary of Treasury — Windom ; One 
Secretary of War — Ramsey. 

Mississippi. 
One Secretary of Treasury — Walker ; One Sec- 
retary of War — Davis ; One Secretary of Interior 
— Thompson. 

Alissoiiri. 

One Secretary of War — Bates; One Attorney- 
General — Bates; Secretary of Interior — Schurz. 

New Hampshire. 
One President — Pierce ; One Secretary of Treas- 
ury — Woodbury; Two Secretaries of Navy — Wood- 
bury and Chandler. 

Neiv Jersey. 
One Secretary of State — Frelinghuysen ; Three 
Secretaries of Navy — Southard, Dickerson and 

Kobeson. 

New York. 

Four Presidents — Van Buren, Fillmore, Arthur, 
Cleveland; Seven Vice-Presidents — Burr, Clinton, 
Tompkins, Van Buren, Fillmore, Wheeler and 
Arthur ; Four Secretaries of State — Van Buren, 
Seward, Fish and Evarts ; Four Secretaries of 
Treasury — Hamilton, Spencer, Dix and Folger; 
Five Secretaries of War — Armstrong, Porter, B. 
F. Butler, Spencer and Marcy ; Two Secretaries of 
Navy — Thompson and Paulding; Three Attorneys- 



APPENDIX E. 19 

General — B. F. Butler, Evarts and Plerrepont; 
PostniJisters-General — Granger, Hall and James. 

Noi'-th Carolina. 
Four Secretaries of Navj — Branch. Badger. 
Graham and Dobbin. 

Oregon. 
One Attornej^-General — Williams. 

Ohio. 
Three Presidents — Harrison, Haj^es and Garfield; 
Four Secretaries of Treasury — Ewing, Corwin, 
Chase and Sherman ; Four Secretaries of War — 
Cass, John McLean, Sherman and Taft ; Two At- 
torneys-General — Stanbery and Taft ; Three Sec- 
retaries of Interior — Ewing, Cox and Delano ; 
Three Postmasters-General — Meigs, McLean and 

Dennison, 

Pennsylvania. 

One President — Buchanan ; One Vice-President 
— Dallas ; Two Secretaries of State — Buchanan 
and Black ; Seven Secretaries of Treasury — Gal- 
latin, Dallas, Rush, Ingham, Duane, Forward and 
Meredith ; Five Secretaries of War — Porter, 
Wilkins, Simon Cameron, Stanton and Don Cam- 
eron ; Two Secretaries of Navy — Jones and Borie ; 
Nine Attorneys-General — Bradford, Rodney, Rush, 
Gilpin, Black, Stanton, Coffey, McVeagh and 
Brewster; One Secretary of Interior^ — McKennan; 
Postmasters-General — Pickering and Campbell. 



20 APPENDIX E. 

South Carolina. 

One Vice-President — Calhoun ; Two Secretaries 

of State — Legare and Calhoun ; Two Secretaries 

of War — Calhoun and Poinsett; One Secretary of 

Navy — Hamilton; One Attorney-General — Legare. 

Tennessee. 
Three Presidents — Jackson, Polk and Johnson ; 
One Vice-President — Johnson ; One Secretary of 
Treasury — Campbell ; Two Secretaries of War — 
Eaton and Bell ; One Attorney-General — Grundy ; 
Four Postmasters-General — Cave Johnson, Brown, 
Key and Maynard. 

Vermont. 
One Postmaster-General — Collamer. 

Virginia. 

Five Presidents — Washington, Jefferson, Madi- 
son, Monroe and Tyler; Two Vice-Presidents — 
Jefferson and Tyler; Seven Secretaries of State — 
Jefferson, Randolph, Marshall, Madison, Monroe, 
Upshur and Stuart; Six Secretaries of War — 
Monroe, Graham, Barbour, Mason, Scott and 
Floyd ; Four Secretaries of Navy — Upshur, Gilmer, 
Mason and Preston ; Four Attorneys-General^- 
Randolph, Lee, Wirt and Mason. 

West Virginia. 
One Secretary of Navy — Goff. 

Wisco7isi7i. 
Two Attorneys-General — Randall and Howe. 



Appendix F. 

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 

The Presidential election will take place on 
Tuesday, November 6, 1888. The Constitution 
prescribes that each State shall appoint, in such 
manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a 
number of electors equal to the whole number of 
Senators and Representatives to which the State 
may be entitled in Congress. For the election this 
year, the electors by States will be as follows : 



States. Electoral 

Vote. 

Alabama 10 

Arkansas 7 

Cahfornia 8 

Colorado 3 

Connecticut 6 

Delaware 3 

Florida 4 

Georgia 12 

Illinois 22 

Indiana 15 

Iowa 13 

Kansas 9 

Kentucky 13 

Louisiana 8 

Maine 6 

Maryland 8 

Massachusetts 14 

Michigan 13 

Minnesota 7 

Mississippi 9 

Necessary to a choice, 201. 



states. Electoral 

Vote. 

Missouri 16 

Nebraska 5 

Nevada 3 

New Hampshire 4 

New Jersey 9 

New York 36 

North Carolina 11 

Ohio 23 

Oregon 3 

Pennsylvania 30 

Rhode Island 4 

South Carolina 9 

Tennessee 12 

Texas 13 

Vermont 4 

Virginia 12 

West Virginia 6 

Wisconsin 11 



Total 401 



APPENDIX F. 

No Senator or Representative, or person holding 
an office of profit or trust under the United States, 
shall be an elector. In all the States, the laws 
thereof direct that the people shall clioose the elec- 
tors. The Constitution requires that the day when 
electors are chosen shall be the same throughout 
the United States. The electors shall meet in their 
respective States on the first Wednesday in Decem- 
ber, and vote by ballot foi' President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, one of w^hom at lea.">t shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same State with themselves. They 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted 
for as Vice-President ; and they shall make dis- 
tinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and 
of all persons voted for as V'ice-President, and of 
the number of votes for each; w^hich lists they 
shall sign and certify and transmit, sealed, to 
Vv^ashington, directed to the President of the Sen- 
ate, before the first Wednesday in January. On 
the second Wednesday in February, the President 
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certifi- 
cates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
person having the greatest number of votes for Presi- 
dent shall be the President, if such number shall be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
and if no person have such p. majority, then from 
the persons having the highest numbers, not ex- 
ceeding three, on the list of those voted for as 



APPENDIX F. 23 

President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose, immediately, hy ballot, the President. But 
in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State 
having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the States, and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. And if the House of 
Representatives shall not choose a President when- 
ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, 
then the Vice-President shall act as President, as 
in case of the death or other constitutional disa- 
bility. The person having the greatest number of 
votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed ; and if no person have a 
majoritv^, then from the two highest numbers on 
the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; 
a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds 
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority 
of the w^hole number shall be necessary to a choice. 
No person, except a natural-born citizen or a citi- 
zen of the United States at the time of the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President; neither shall any person be 
elisfible to that office wdio shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years- The qualifications 
for Vice-President are the same. 



ii(if 11 Sill !''il '^;' [;, ^': ' .' '' ' Sl^^^M 




m 



'' ■ ■lii'il I* 't (ill iiiiii!iri ri! I 






Appendix G. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA. 

We the People of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect Union, establish justice, in- 
sure domestic Tranquility, provide for the com- 
mon defence, promote the general Welfare, and 
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and 
our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America. 

Article I. 

Section 1. All leirislative Powers herein <2:ranted 
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, 
which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. 2. 1 The House of Representatives shall 
be composed of Members chosen every second year 
by the people of the several States, and the Elec- 
tors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for Electors of the most numerous branch 
of the State Le2;islature. 

2 No person shall be a Representative who shall 
not have attained to the age of twenty-five years 
and been seven vears a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inb^•^»itant 
of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

(1) 



2 APPENDIX 

3 Representatives and direct Taxes shall be ap« 
portioned among the several States which may be 
included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers, wliich shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, includ- 
ing those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other 
persons. The actual enumeration shall be made 
within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as 
they shall by law direct. The Number of Repre- 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000, 
but each State shall have at least one Represen- 
tative; and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
choose three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island 
and Providence Plantation, one; Connecticut, five, 
New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, 
eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, 
ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five ; 
and Georgia, tliree. 

4 When vacancies happen in the Representation 
from any State, the executive authority thereof 
shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5 The House of Representatives shall choose 
their Speaker and other officers ; and shall have 
the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. 3. 1 The Senate of the United States shall 
be composed of two senators from each State, 



APPENDIX 3 

chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; 
and each senator shall have one vote. 

2 Immediately after they shall be assembled in 
consequence of the first election, they shall be 
divided as equally as may be into three classes. 
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be 
vacated at the expiration of the second year, of 
the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, 
and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth 
year, so that one-third may be chosen every second 
year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or 
otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of 
any State, the executive thereof may make 
temporary appointments until the next meeting of 
the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3 No person shall be a senator who shall not 
have attained to the age of thirty years, and been 
nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

4 The Vice-President of the United States shall 
be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, 
unless they be equally divided. 

5 The Senateshall choose their other officers, and 
also a President pro-tempore, in the absence of the 
Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office 
of President of the United States. 

G The Senate shall have the sole power to try 
all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, 
they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 



4 APPENDIX 

President of the United States is tried, the chief 
justice shall preside : And no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
members present. 

7 Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not 
extend further than to removal from office, and dis- 
qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust or profit under the United States; but the 
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and 
subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punish- 
ment, according to law. 

Sec, 4. 1 The times, places and manner of hold- 
ing elections for Senators and Representatives shall 
be prescribed in each State by the legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law 
make or alter such regulations, except as to the ' 
places of choosing senators. 

2 The Con2;ress shall assemble at least once in 
every year, and such meeting shall be on the first 
Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Sec. 5. 1 Each House shall be the judge of 
the election, returns and qualifications of its own 
members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized 
to compel the attendance of absent members, in 
such manner, and under such penalties as each 
House may provide. 

2 Each House may determine the rules of its 



APPENDIX 5 

proceedings, punish its members for disorderly 
behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 

3 Each House shall keep a journal of its pro- 
ceedings, and from time to time publish the same, 
excepting such parts as may in their judgmentrequire 
secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
eitlier House on any question shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4 Neither House during the session of Congress, 
shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for 
more than three days, nor to any other place than 
that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. 1 The senators and representatives shall 
receive a compensation for their services, to be 
ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of 
the United States. They shall in all cases, except 
treason, felony and breach of peace, be privileged 
from arrest during their attendance at the session of 
their respective Houses, and in going to and return- 
ing from the same; and for any speech or debate in 
either House they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

2 No senator or representative shall, during the 

time for which he was elected, be appointed to any 

civil office under the authority of the United States, 

which shall have been created, or the emoluments 

whereof shall have been increased during such 

time ; and no person holding any office under the 

United States, shall be a member of either House 

durinsr his continence in office. 
^ 13 



6 APPENDIX 

Sec. 7. 1 All bills for raising revenue shall 
origin<ate in the House of Representatives; but the 
Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

2 Every bill which shall have passed the House 
of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it 
becomes a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but 
if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that 
House in which it h\\'A\\ liave originated, who 
shall enter the objections at large on their journal 
and proceed to reconsider it. If after such recon- 
sideration two-thirds of that House shall asree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other House, by which it shall 
likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two- 
thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But 
in all such cases the votes of both Houses siiall be 
determined by yeas and nays, and the names of 
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be 
entered on the journal of each House respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the President 
■within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, 
in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, 
in whl(;h case it shall not be a law. 

3 Every order, resolution or vote to which the 
concurrence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives may be necessary (except a question of 



APPENDIX 7 

adjournment) shall be presented to the President 
of the United States; and before the same shall 
take effect, shall be approved by him, or being dis- 
approved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House of Representatives, ac- 
cording to the rules and limitations prescribed in 
the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power 

1 To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and 
excises, to pay the debts and provide for the com- 
mon defence and general welfare of the United 
States ; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be 
uniform throusjliout the United States. 

2 To borrow monej^ on the credit of the United 
States ; 

3 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, 
and among the several States, and with the Indian 
tribes ; 

4 To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, 
and uniform hiws on the subject of bankruptcies 
throughout the United States; 

5 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, 
and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights 
and measures ; 

6 To provide for the punishment of counterfeit- 
ing the securities and current coin of the United 
States ; 

7 To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

8 To promote the progress of science and useful 
arts, by securing for limited times to authors and 



8 APPENDIX 

inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries ; 

9 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme 
Court ; 

10 To define and punish piracies and felonies 
committed on the high seas, and offences against 
the law of nations ; 

11 To declare w^ar, grant letters of marque and 
reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on 
land and water; 

12 To raise and support armies, but no appro- 
priation cf money to that use shall be for a longer 
term than two years ; 

13 To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14 To make rules for the government and regu- 
lation of the land and naval forces ; 

15 To provide for calling forth the militia to 
execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrec- 
tions and repel invasions ; 

16 To provide for organizing, arming, and dis- 
ciplining the militia, and for governing such part 
of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively, 
the appointment of the officers, and the authority 
of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress ; 

17 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases 
whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten 
miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the 



APPENDIX 9 

Beat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased 
by the consent of the Legislature of the State in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful 
buildings; and 

18 To make all laws which shall be necessary 
and proper for carrying into execution the fore- 
going powers, and all other powers vested by this 
Constitution, in the government of the United 
States, or in any department or officer thereof 

Sec. 9. 1 The migration or importation of such 
persons as any of the States now existing shall 
think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be im- 
posed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars for each person. 

2 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion 
or invasion the public safety may require it. 

3 No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall 
be passed. 

4 No capitation, or other direct tax, shall be 
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumera- 
tion herein before directed to be taken. 

6 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles ex- 
ported from any State. 

6 No preference shall be given by any regula- 
tion of commerce or revenue to the ports of one 



10 APPENDIX 

State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound 
to, or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or 
pay duties in another. 

7 No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, 
but in consequence of appropriations made by law; 
and a regular statement and account of tlie re- 
ceipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published from time to time. 

8 No title of nobility shall be granted by the 
United States : And no person holding any office 
of profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolu- 
ment, office or title, of any kind whatever, from 
any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Sec. 10. 1 No State shall enter into any treaty, 
alliance, or confederation ; grant letters of marque 
and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 
in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex 
post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2 No State shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or 
exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws; and the net pro- 
duce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State 
on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the 
Treasury of the United States; and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. 



APPENDIX 11 

3 No State shall, without the consent of Con- 
gress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or 
ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agree- 
n^ent or compact with another State, or with a 
foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually 
invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not 
admit ot delay. 

Article IL 

Sec. 1. 1 The executive power shall be vested 
in a President of the United States of America. 
He shall hold his office during the term of four 
years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen 
for the same term, be elected, as follows : 

2 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as 
the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of 
electors, equal to the whole number of senators 
and representatives, to which the State may be 
entitled in the Congress : but no senator or repre- 
sentative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States shall be appointed 
an elector. 

[*The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom 
one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same 
State with themselves. And they shall make a 
list of all the persons voted for, and of the number 
of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and 
certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 

* This clause within brackets has been superseded and auuulled by the 
twelfth umfudment. 



12 APPENDIX 

ment of the United States, directed to the Presi* 
dent of the Senate. The President of the Senata 
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted. The person having 
the greatest number of votes shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed; and if there be more than 
one who have such majority, and have an equal 
number of votes, then the House of Representa- 
tives shall immediately choose by ballot one of 
them for President; and if no person have a ma- 
jority, then from the five highest on the list the 
said House shall, in like manner, choose the Presi- 
dent. But in choosing the President, the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote; a quorum for this pur- 
pose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the 
States shall be necessary to a choice. In every 
case, after the choice of the President, the persoa 
having the greatest number of votes of the elec- 
tors, shall be the Vice-President. But if there 
should remain two or more who have equal votes, 
the Senate shall choose from them by ballot, the 
Vice-President.] 

3 The Congress may determine the time of 
choosing the electors, and the day on which they 
shall give their votes ; which day ihall be the same 
throudiout the United States. 



APPENDIX 18 

4 No person except a natural born citizen, or a 
citizen of the United States, at the time of the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to 
the office of President; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years and been fourteen 
years a resident within the United States. 

6 In case of the removal of the President from 
office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to dis- 
charge the powers and duties of the said office, tiio 
same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and tlui 
Congress may by law provide for the case of 
removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of 
the President and Vice-President, declaring what 
officer shall then act as President, and such officer 
shall act accordingly, until the disability be 
removed, or a President shall be elected. 

6 The President shall, at stated times, receive 
for his services, a compensation, which shall neither 
be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
receive within that period any other emolument 
from the United States, or any of them. 

7 Before he enter on the execution of his office, 
he shall take the following oath or affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 
ftiithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of 
the United States." 



14 APPENDIX 

Sec. 2. 1 The President shall be commander- 
in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, 
and of tlie militia of the sev'eral States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States; 
he may n^quire the opinion, in writing, of the 
principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of 
their respective offices, and he shall have power to 
grant reprieves and pardons for offi^nces against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2 He shall have power by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, pro- 
vided two-thirds of the senators present concur; 
and he shall nominate, and by and w^ith the advice 
and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges 
of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the 
United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lished by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think 
proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, 
or in the heads of departments. 

3 The President shall have power to fill up all 
vacancies that may happen during the recess of the 
Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire 
at the end of their next session. 

Sec. 3. lie shall from time to time dve the 
Congress information of the state of the Union, and 
recommend to their consideration such measures iis 



APPENDIX 15 

he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, 
on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, 
or either of them, and in case of disagreement 
between them, with respect to the time of adjourn- 
ment, he may adjourn them to sucli time as he 
shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors 
and other pubUc ministers ; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commis- 
sion all the officers of the United States. 

Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President and all 
civil officers of the United States, shall be removed 
from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, 
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and mis- 
demeanors. 

Article III. 

Sec. 1. The judicial power of the United States 
shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such 
inferior courts as the Congress may from time to 
time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices 
during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their service a compensation, which 
shall not be dhninished during their continuance 
in office. 

Sec. 2. 1 The judicial power shall extend to all 
cases, in law and equity, arising under this Consti- 
tution, the laws of the United States and treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under iheir authority; 
to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public min- 



16 APPENDIX 

isters and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and 
maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which 
the United States shall be a party ; to controver- 
sies between two or more States ; between a State 
and ci-tizens of another State, between citizens of 
different States, between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and 
between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens or subjects. 

2 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, and those in which a State 
shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original 
jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, 
the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and 
under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3 Tlie trial of all crimes, except in cases of im- 
peachment, shall be by jury ; and such trial shall 
be held in the State where the said crimes shall 
have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or 
places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sec. 3. 1 Treason against the United States 
shall consist only in levying war against them, or 
in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testiuiony of two witnesses to the 
same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2 The Congress shall have power to declare the 
punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason 



APPENDIX 17 

shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IY. 

Sec. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in 
each State to the public acts, records, and judicial 
proceedings of every other State. And the Con- 
gress may by general laws prescribe the manner 
in which such acts, records and proceedings shall 
be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. 1 The citizens of each State shall be 
entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens 
in the several States. 

2 A person charged in any State with treason, 
felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, 
and be found in another State, shall on demand of 
the executive authority of the State from which 
he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the 
State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3 No person held to service or labor in one 
State, under the laws thereof, escaping into an- 
other, shall, in consequence of any law or regula- 
tion therein, be discharged from such service or 
labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the 
party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. 3. 1 New States may be admitted by the 
Congress into this Union ; but no new State shall 
be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other State; nor any State be formed hy the junc- 
tion of two or more States, or parts of States, with- 



18 APPENDIX* ' 

out the consent of the legislatures of the States 
concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2 The Congress shall have power to dispose of 
and make all needful rules and regulations respect- 
ing the territory or otlier property belonging to 
the United States; and nothing in this Constitu- 
tion shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims 
of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to 
every State in this Union a Republican form of 
government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and on application of the legislature, or 
of the executive (wlien the legislature cannot be 
convened) against domestic violence. 

Article V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both 
Houses shall deem it necessar}^, shall propose 
amenduients to this Constitution, or, on the appli- 
cation of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the sev- 
eral States, shall call a Convention for proposing 
amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid 
to all intents and purposes, as part of this Consti- 
tution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three- 
fourths of the several States, or b}' Conventions in 
three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of I'atification may be proposed by tlie Congress; 
Provided that no amendment which may be made 
prior to the year 1808 shall in any manner affect 
the first nnd fourth clauses in the ninth section of 



APPENDIX 19 

the first article; and that no State, ^^ithout its 
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in 
the Senate. 

Article YI. 

1 All debts contracted and engagements entered 
into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall 
be as valid against the United States under this 
Constitution, as under the Confederation. 

2 This Constitution, and the laws of the United 
States which shall be made in pursuance tliereof; 
and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land ; and the Judges in 
every State shall be bound thereby, a.nything in 
the Constitution or laws of any State to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

3 The Senators and Representatives before men- 
tioned, and the members of the several State Legis- 
latures, and all executive and judicial oflicers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, shall 
be bound by oath or affirmation, to support thi.s 
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be 
required as a qualification to any office or public 
trust under the United States. 

Article YII. 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine 
States shall be sufficient for the establishment of 
this Constitution between the States so ratifying 
the same. 



20 APPENDIX 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent 
of the States present the 17th day of Septem- 
ber in the year of our Lord 1787, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America 
the twelfth. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names, 

Geo. Washington, 
President and deputy from Virginia, 

New Hampshire. 
John Langdon, Nichohis Gihnan. 

Massachusetts, 
Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 

Connecticut. 
Wm. Saml. Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York, 
Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. 
Wil. Livingston, David Brearley, 

William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Iknnsylvania. 
B. Franklin, . Thomas Mifflin, 

Robert Morris, George Clymer, 

Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaioare. 
George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jun'r, 

John Dickinson, Richard Bassett. 
Jacob Broom, 



APPENDIX 21 

Maryland. 

James M'Henry, Dan. of St. Thos. Jenifer. 
Daniel Carroll, 

Virginia. 

John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina. 

William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight. 
Hugh Williamson, 

South Carolina. * 

J. Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 

Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 

Georgia. 
William Few, Abr. Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary. 



Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of the 
Constitution of the United States of America. 

Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legisla- 
tures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth 
article of the original Constitution. 

Article I. 
Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble, and to petition the government for a re- 
dress of grievances. 



22 APPENDIX 

Article II. 

A well re2:ulated militia beinsr necessary to the 
security of a free State, the right of the people to 
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

Article III. 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 

in any house, without the consent of the owner, 

nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed 

by law. 

• Article IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, "against unreason- 
able searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu- 
larly describing the place to be searched, and the 
person or things to be seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a present- 
ment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or 
public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for 
the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of 
life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any crimi- 
nal case to be a witness against himself, nor be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 



APPENDIX 28 

process of law ; nor shall private property be taken 
for public use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an 
impartial jury of the State and district wherein 
the crime shall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and 
to be informed of the nature and cause of the ac- 
cusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance 
of counsel for his defence. 

Article VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in con 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, th4 right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried 
by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
court of the United States, than according to the 
rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punish- 
ments inflicted. 

Article IX. 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
others retained by the people. 



24 APPENDIX 

Article X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States 

by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 

State, are reserved to the States respectively, or to 

the people. 

Article XL 

The judicial power of the United States shall not 
be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, 
commenced or prosecuted against one of the United 
States by citizens of another State, or by citizens 
or subjects of any foreign State. 

Article XII. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, 
and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, 
one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State with themselves ; they shall 
name in iheir ballots the person voted for as Presi- 
dent, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as 
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists 
of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the 
number of votes for each, which list they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of 
the government of the United States, directed to 
the President of the Senate ; the President of the 
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House 
of Representatives, open all the certificates, and 
the votes shall then be counted ; the person having 
the greatest number of votes for President shall 



APPENDIX 25 

be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed ; and if 
no person have such majority, then from the 
persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding 
three on the list of those voted for as President, 
the House of Representatives shall choose immedi- 
ately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing 
the President the votes shall be taken by States, 
the representation from each State having one 
vote ; a quorum for tliis purpose shall consist of a 
member or members from two-thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary 
to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President whenever the right of 
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 
day of March next following, then the Vice-Presi- 
dent shall act as President, as in the case of the 
death or other constitutional disability of the 
President. The person having the greatest number 
of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-Presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed, and if no person 
have a majority, then from the two highest numbers 
on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi- 
dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of 
two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a 
majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. But no person constitutionally in- 
eligible to the office of President shall be eligible 
to that of Vice-President of the United States. 



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Appendix H. 



DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 
OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 

The Tariff— a Reform Necessary— How it Works- 
Need OF A Free and Cheap Market— The Govern- 
ment Protects the Manufacturers to the Detri- 
ment OF THE Consumer— Prof. Sumner on Free 
Trade. 

Lmmense sums are invested in the manufactur- 
ing pursuits of our country and large fortunes are 
amassed by tlie manufacturers. We export very 
little of our manufactures, the bulk being con- 
sumed at home, so tliat the money paid for them 
comes out of the pockets of our laboring people. 
The cost of manufacturing is generally high in 
this country, and our manufactured products can 
but rarely compete in foreign markets with those of 
the great manuf\icturing nations of Europe, which 
are able to produce goods much cheaper and there- 
fore to undersell us. Nearly all of our manufac- 
turers are therefore confined to the home market, 
and must sell their goods to the people of this 
country alone. 

It is but right and proper that the manufactur- 
ing interests of this country should be fostered 
and encouraged by all legitimate and reasonable 
means. With great difficulty our manufactures 

(1) 



2 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

were built up, in spite of the spirited competition 
of the cheaply manufacturing nations of Europe. 
They were able to deliver their goods in the Amer- 
ican market at prices below those at which our 
own productions could be sold. In order to enable 
the American manufacturer to successfully compete 
^yith the foreign producer, the general government 
imposed a tariff of duties on imported goods. This 
was at first limited to a few articles. Under the pro- 
tection of the protective tariff the manufacturing 
interest of the country improved rapidly. Pro- 
tection was extended to one article after the other, 
until we had the protective tariff of to-day, which 
is not merely protective, but became prohibitory 
as regards importations from abroad. 

More than twenty years ago, to meet the exi- 
gencies of the great civil war. Congress imposed a 
tarifi' of duties on imports higher than this country 
had ever before known and higher than any civil- 
ized naticm now maintains. The protective features 
of the war tariff have been retained, without essen- 
tial changes, up to the present time. The act of 
last year framed by the representatives of pro- 
tected indui^tries and passed by Congress, to evade 
the demand for tariff reform, has given no actual 
relief In some cases it does not only not reduce 
the duties, but it even increases them- 

Labor and capital have been diverted by the 
tariff from those industries in which they produce 
the greatest results. The industries which can be 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 3 

carried on to the best advantasre in this countrv 
are checked and in many cases are shut out from 
foreign markets, in order that others, less profit- 
able, may be artificially stimulated. In many 
branches of manufacture we lead the world, in 
agriculture we have an incomparably rich field. 

The war tariff, no longer required for purposes 
of revenue, has laid heavy burdens on the labor- 
ing classes by raising the prices of imported ar- 
ticles, as well as of similar commodities which 
are manuflictured at home. From the higher prices 
of the latter the government derives no revenue 
whatever. They either permanently or temporarily 
enhance the profits of our manufacturers. The 
higher prices and profits represent the money taken 
by the government from one class (the laborers) 
and given to another class (the manufacturers). 
High tariff gives an unhealthy stimulus to some 
industries and generally results in overproduction, 
stagnation of trade, to failures among employers, 
strikes and distress among the employed, and 
eventually benefits nobody. 

The protectionists assert that our present ex- 
travagant high tariff brings about the generally 
high rate of wages in this country. It is absurd to 
suppose that taxes on the necessaries of life and 
on the instruments of production cause high wages. 

It is an undisputed fact that wages are higher in 
this country in the industries not affected by the 
tariflf, in agriculture, the mechanical trades and the 



4 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

self-supporting manufactures. The laboring classes, 
as the consumers, are the main sufferers from the 
existing tariff which has kept down our foreign 
commerce. It serves to check importation and to 
obstruct foreign trade. But by checking importa- 
tion we naturally cut down exportation, each being 
dependent on the other. Tlie result of our pro- 
hibitory policy is that our international commerce 
cannot be compared to that of other nations. For 
tlie ten years ending in 1880 the combined exports 
and imports of England were annually for each 
inhabitant ^95; of France, $39; Germany, §34.40, 
and of the United States, §22.80. Tlie commerce 
of Germany, with a smaller population than the 
United States, was during these ten years nearly 
50 per cent, greater than our own, that of France, 
also with a smaller population, nearly 40 per cent, 
greater. It is an undoubted fact that the tariff has 
deprived us of the expansion of our commerce, 
which more liberal laws would have secured. 

The worst feature of the high tariff is that it 
not only gives protection to the finished products, 
but it raises the prices of raw products which are 
used in our manuf\icturing establishments. Every 
other industrial nation admits free all raw materi- 
als. We not only tax iron ore, pig iron, lead, cop- 
per, wool, coal, lumber, hemp, flax, jute, dye-stuffs 
and other raw materials, but also many finished 
products which are needed in our domestic indus- 
tries. These taxes finally are paid by the consumer. 



OR ONLY A FETT MANUFACTURERS? 5 

The high tariff men have always dechired that 
high taxes were essential to give well-payin^^ em- 
ployment to American workingmen. They never 
alleged that a protective tariff protected those me- 
chanics who are mainly their own employers — the 
carpenters, bricklayers cind masons, or sailors, shoe- 
makers, and other independent craftsmen — but tlioy 
claim that weavers, mill-operatives, and other per- 
sons employed in manufacturing staple articles of 
merchandise are benefited by it. But the latter 
have not fared better than more independent work- 
ingmen, as nearly all manufacturers and their 
hands will admit. Ask the manuHicturer of cloth 
or yarns or oil cloth, or any other staple article, if 
free raw material would not increase his sales; if 
the cost of production of their articles is not largely 
increased by reason of taxed raw material, and if 
the wages of the workingman are increased by the 
higher price of raw material. 

The starting-point in tariff reform is in w^iden- 
inir the free list. The tariff never increased a 
Avorkimrman's w^aG^es, and never will. It indi- 
rectly injures the workingman in curtailing the 
growth of manufacturing industries. If, for in- 
stance, the tax on those grades of wool which we 
must import were stricken off, Ave certainly would 
feel some benefit, and there is no sheep-raiser in 
the land who would be hurt by it. 

Our tariff, which was adopted not for the pur- 
pose of raising revenue but with reference to pro- 



6 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

tection, yieliis annually to the national treasury at 
least $100,000,000 more than is wanted for any 
legitimate public purpose. This should not be 
permitted any longer. 

The friends of protection have proposed to re- 
duce the revenue by abolishing the internal taxes 
on spirits, beer, and tobacco. Every civilized gov- 
ernment recognizes these taxes on luxuries as 
proper and just. Would it not be preposterous to 
reduce or abolish these taxes ^Yhile the protective 
taxes on the necessaries of life impose unnecessary 
burdens on consumers and fetter the industry of 
the country? 

It would be a hardship and unwise to abolish at 
once all protective duties without giving some time 
for industries which have been stimulated by the 
protective tariff to adjust themselves to the new 
conditions, but protection should no longer be 
maintained at the present extravagant point. The 
present tariff, v/itli duties from 40 to 100 per cent, 
and more, should be greatly reduced to a reasonable 
basis, and many of the now protected industries 
can well bear this reduction. 

The great abuses of our tariff system and the 
w^ar taxes, after twenty years of peace and pros- 
perity, should be abolished, and the revenue should 
be brought down to the sum required to meet all the 
legitimate expenses of the government. Speaker 
J. C. Carlisle, of the House of Congress, sajs, in a 
letter to the chairman of a Democratic meeting to 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 7 

be held at New York City on the 23d of May in 
favor of Tilden and Hendricks among other things: 

" My official duties here are so pressing at the 
present stage of the session that it will be impossi- 
ble for me to accept your kind invitation, but I take 
this method of assuring you that I most heartily 
approve of the purpose for which the meeting has 
been called. 

" The necessity for a reduction of tariff taxation 
and the consequent decrease of the cost of produc- 
tion was never more urgent than at the present time. 
The maintenance of the existing rates of taxation 
upon imported goods is not justified either by the 
financial condition of the government or the inter- 
ests of any class of the people. With an overflow- 
ing public treasury upon the one hand and impend- 
ing commercial and industrial depression upon the 
other, it is obvious that we are rapidly approaching 
a crisis in our affairs which may prove disastrous 
alike to public morals and private fortunes. A 
large accumulation of surplus revenue constitutes 
the most dangerous corruption fund that can exist 
in a republic. It is not only a temptation, but its 
inevitable tendency is to excite a spirit of pecula- 
tion and fraud throughout the whole body of public 
officials. It is an evil which will not be long tol- 
erated in a country where the voice of the taxpayer 
can be heard at the polls. 

"Since the close of the w^ar more than four- 
fifths of the internal revenue taxes have been abol- 
ished, while the tariff remains substantially un- 
changed. Indeed, on many articles of necessity in 
common use among the people the rates of duty 
are higher now than they were during the war, 



8 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

while on nearly all of them the duties are mnch 
higher in proportion to the market value of the 
articles than they were then. Taxes upon the 
vices and luxuries of the people have been greatly 
reduced or entirely abolisiied, while taxes upon 
the necessaries of life and the tools and implements 
of labor have been retained, and in some instiinccs 
increased. Under this policy commerce has been 
obstructed, the cost of production has been increased 
and the earnin^rs of labor have been confiscated. 
These taxes are not needed for revenue and tiu'V 
cannot be legitimately or beneficially maintained 
for any other purpose. There is not an instance 
in the history of the world in which a government 
has made its people rich and prosperous by impos- 
ing unnecessary taxes upon them. Every dollar 
taken by taxation is just so much withdrawn from 
the productive capital of the country and from the 
laborer's means of support, and therefore the plain- 
est principles of justice and sound policy demand 
that the exaction should be reduced to the lowest 
limit compatible with the public necessities. Te 
tax the people for the purpose of raising revenue 
for the public use is a legitimate function of gov- 
ernment, and if the burden is equally distributed 
no citizen has a right to complain either of the t-ix 
or of its incidental effects ; but to impose a tax for 
any other purpose is a gross abuse of legislative 
power, and will always provoke agitation, protest 
and resistance. Stability in the laws affecting the 
industrial interests of the people is absolutely es- 
sential to the continuous and rapid development 
of our resources; but stability can be secured only 
by doing as nearly as possible exact justice to uU 
whose interests are affected by such legislation. 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTUKKRS ? 9 

^ " Hoping and believing that the time is not far 
distant when the excessive exactions and the op- 
pressive inequalities of the existing system will be 
corrected, 1 remain yours respect full}-, 

''J. G. Carlisle." 

The decadence of the American commercial 
marine is directly the result of this pernicious pro- 
tective tariff. The advocates of free ships, said 
Capt. John Codman, of Boston, a large ship-owner, 
before the House Committee on American Ship- 
ping, are the advocates of American lai)or, the labor 
and profit of ship-sailing, which, as Mr. Roach 
(the owner of the largest ship-yard in the United 
States, at Chester, Pa.) has repeatedly said, is fif- 
teen times greater than that of ship-building. 
They ask to be able to buy such ships, as they are 
not able to build, to have them to sail under the 
stars and stripes in order to employ labor that we 
do not now employ; to induce merchants who 
have not the opportunity to become ship-owners ; 
to give our captains and officers employment under 
their own instead of forcing them to seek it under 
a foreign flag; to raise up a force of seamen who 
shall defend that flas: when it is attacked on the 
sea, and withal by depriving a ring of ship-builders 
of only a part of their monopoly to force them to 
reduce their enormous profits so that in the end 
there will be no necessity for us to go abroad for 
any class of ships. In short, with injury to none, 
with benefit to all, to revive the American commer- 



10 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

cial marine by taking at least some part of the 
carrying trade out of the hands of foreigners who 
are protected by our own laws in appropriating to 
themselves the whole of the business upon the 
sea. 4 

The steamships employed by them for this pur- 
pose are generally vessels of over 3,000 tons, a 
class not as a rule embraced in our domestic coast- 
ing trade. Their admission to register would not, 
therefore, interfere with it materially; they would 
not necessitate that bugbear, paralysis of home in- 
dustry, which, it is said, would close all our ship- 
yards, and, although we have navy yards besides, 
would make us dependent for ships upon foreigners 
in case of war. He asked the committee to bring 
one particle of common sense to bear upon this 
most stupid of all objections to free ships which 
the ship-builders have the effrontery to flaunt be- 
fore the country and before the committee con- 
tinually. 

Mr. Roach says positively that the balance 
which is against us is not in the cost but in the 
sailing of the ship. On the contrary', the reverse 
is the truth. I do not claim to know as much 
about ship-building as Mr. Roach ought to know, 
but I have had more experience in ship-sailing and 
a great deal in ship-owning. I have been employed 
in all stations of seaman, officer and captain from 
1834 to 1867, having been part or sole owner the 
latter portion of the time. 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 11 

I never knew the time, Capt. Codman contin- 
ued, when in any sail or steam vessel that I have 
commanded or owned that we could not compete 
with Englishmen, so long as our ships cost alike. 
It was only v/hen there came to be that difference 
in cost that now exists in iron ships that we were 
obliged to throw up the sponge. We could com- 
pete with them under all the disadvantages with 
which we have hitherto labored, and which are 
not only to be totally removed by the Dingley bill, 
but, by the aid of that bill and of the States which 
have abolished taxation on ship property, we shall 
actually have an advantage over them. They still 
are obliged to pay consular fees, we are to pay 
none; they pay an income tax on the earnings of 
their vessels, we are to pay none whatever. 

Here is the memorial of the American ship- 
masters sent to Congress from California. They 
knew what they wanted. The Dingley bill gives it 
to thorn, and it gives them even more than they ask. 

Mr. Roach produced a table showing that in all 
branches of his labor he pays more than double 
wages above those paid in Scotland. And yet, 
when you ask him how it is that he can build 
ships within 5, 10 or 15 per cent, of the cost of 
theirs he tells you it is because of the superior in- 
tellio^ence of himself and his workmen. He was 
imported from Ireland, and most of his men were 
imported from Scotland. I have no objection to 
that. I do not care how many of them come over, 



12 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

nor how much they talk of the protection of Amer- 
ican hibor after they get here, nor of the pauper 
labor they left at home. But I do object to the 
implication that, because we happen to be born in 
Maine, or Cape Ann, Cape Cod or on the Connec- 
ticut river, our energy and our skill are not to be 
considered equal to those qualities possessed by 
English sailors, with whom we may contend at 
even chances, with no such d i sad van ta ires as those 
which foreign-born machinists and blacksmiths so 
successfully overcome. And so Mr. Roach gave 
you to understand that, on account of our miser- 
able inefficiency, even if we had ships given us 
for nothing, we should not know what to do with 
them. 

American officers, it is said, ask for higher wages 
than Englishmen. They do, but they can get them 
only in the coastwise monopoly. In the foreign 
trade they cannot get them — first, because we have 
no foreign trade under our flag, and secondly, be- 
cause our infamous Navigation laws have driven 
them under the British flaGr to sail either in British 
employ or in the employ of Americans who can own 
ships profitably only under a foreign name. I do 
not think much of the sentimentalism which is 
shocked at the idea of hoistins: the American ensii^n 
on a British-built ship while it forces an American 
to get his living under the British flag. 

It is the difference in the cost of the ship that 
has been mainly against us. When the Dingloy 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 13 

bill has passed and become a law that difference 
will be absolutely the only impediment that re- 
mains. Mr. Roach has stated that the margin is 
very small. I have always estimated it at 30 per 
cent. I do not mean to say that it ought to be as 
much, but, on account of monopoly, it is as much. 
Relief must come by the inexpensive but just 
method of giving your countrymen an even oppor- 
tunity in the ownership of vessels with every other 
nation on earth. 

There was one more point in Mr. Roach's speech 
to which I wish to call your attention. He stated 
that he was a ship-owner rather than a ship-builder, 
intimating that he cared more for the former busi- 
ness than the latter. At the same time he told you 
that he could not sail his ships without a '' postal 
contract." How, then, has he grown rich under 
such losses? It would appear that the more ships 
he builds without profit, to run at a loss, the poorer 
he must become. The fact is, according to his own 
showing, the profits of a ship-builder, when he gets 
a chance to build a ship, are enormous, and can only 
be curtailed by foreign competition. 

His last statement was that he could build a ship 
within 15 per cent, of the cost abroad. That, of 
course, included an ordinary profit. But when we 
find, as by Governor Dingley's investigations, that 
he charges his customers with a difference of 30 per 
cent., then you may add 15 per cent, to the profit 
already extracted from the buyer. And yet he is 



14 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

not content even with that, but he wants a "postal 
contract" nominally for the purchaser, but in reality 
as a further bonus from the government to himself, 
for he would not contract to build a ship any cheaper 
than he had heretofore done because of it. And 
now, gentlemen, you see why we ask for free ships. 

Mr. Ellis H. Roberts, of New York, in one of his 
lectures in Cornell University, has been discussing 
the protectionist tlieory of balance of trade. He 
holds that, wlien this balance of trade runs against 
a country, it is in a bad way, and that the only 
means of redressing the balance in its favor is to 
levy high protective duties, so as to keep out for- 
eign imports. So, according to this theory, if a 
nation exports little it is flourishing, if only the 
balance of trade for the year shows that it imports 
still less. Unfortunately, however, for the credit 
of this doctrine, statistics show that some of the 
most successful commercial nations have the bal- 
ance of trade running steadily against them. Their 
returns show that their imports from year to year 
are vastly in excess of their exports, and yet they 
persistently refuse to obey the theory of balance of 
trade and sink into hopeless commercial decoy. 
What to the protectionist is evidence of an unfavor- 
able balance is to them proof of successful trading 
around the world. 

The balance-of-trade theorists maintain that there 
is a vast difference between foreign commerce and 
internal commerce. They are willing to admit, on 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 15 

the evidence of their senses, that there are great 
and unmistakable reciprocal advantages in free 
trade between such States as New York and Illi- 
nois, Pennsylvania and Texas. The balances of 
trade in the commercial relations of these States 
give them no concern. They know that the bal- 
ances adjust themselves in obedience to laws which 
governments may disturb, but cannot control. Yet, 
by a strange confusion of ideas, they hold that in 
foreign trade one party or the other is sure to be 
the loser, and that the "balance" shows who the 
loser is. In fact, this balance, when all the ele- 
ments of which it is composed are analyzed, might 
show just the reverse of what the tariff theorist so 
readily assumes. 

To do the balance-of-trade theorists justice, so 
complete is their practical recognition of the bene- 
fits of reciprocal freedom of trade that they would 
not establish custom houses around the rims of all 
the States of the Union if they could. They know 
that such a system would be vexatious and burden- 
some to the people. But whenever the trade crosses 
the line to Canada on one side, or Mexico on the 
other, the whole thing is changed. Up to the line 
there is no trouble. There is no question about 
the reciprocal advantages of untaxed traffic until 
the line is crossed, when the balance-of-trade theory 
at once goes into operation. Then trade becomes a 
business in which both sides are sure to be cheated 
unless they set up barriers for their self-protection. 



16 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

Yet the duties are not imposed for support of gov- 
ernment, since it is conceded that revenues can be 
obtained in other ways. If the question of gov- 
ernment support were involved, people would cheer- 
fully bear the burdens in order to discharge an 
obligation of citizenship. The duties are assessed 
on the avowed ground that free exchanges of pro- 
ducts up to a certain line are advantageous, but 
when that line is crossed they become injurious, 
and must be restrained or prohibited. A barrier 
must be erected lest the people on both sides of 
the line obtain too many of each others products 
in mutual exchanges, and thus turn their respec- 
tive balances against themselves. Must there not 
be a delusiion or a monstrous fallacy in a theory of 
trade that irreparably breaks down when an imagi- 
nary line separating the United States from Canada 
or Mexico is reached? 

The advocates of freedom of exchange hold, 
that if the raw materials of industry can be 
obtained of better quality and less cost abroad it 
is better to send abroad for such materials than to 
force their production at home by Government 
interference tlirough high duties. The latter pro- 
cess involves much unproductive labor, while in 
the former the exchange is beneficial to both sides. 
If, on the other hand, freedom of exchange is sure 
to involve loss to one side or the other, according 
to the balance-of-trade fiction, then the commerce 
and the finances of the world, with the transpor- 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 17. 

tation, the shipping, tho banking, the business of 
the commission merchants, and all the other rami- 
fied departments of traffic, rest on a very precarious 
foundation. Reason and observation teach the 
contrary. 

The St, Louis Republican says, in one of its 
articles on Free Commerce ; 

"Universal remunerative employment of the 
people of any country is at once the sign and the 
cause of 'good times.' The antithesis of this 
condition, idleness or insufficient remuneration, is 
the sign and cause of ' hard times.' Large pro- 
duction and large consumption imply a happy 
industrial state and generally a happy physical 
condition of the people. In a free society there 
can scarcely be large production without large 
consumption, and large consumption cannot con- 
tinue for any considerable period without large 
production. The price of commodities is not of 
the essence of the matter if there is free and fair 
exchange. If two articles which are produced at 
an equal expense of labor are allowed to be ex- 
changed freely for each other, the nominal price is 
of no concern to the producer and consumer. What 
injures the body of producers and consumers is leg- 
islative interference or some social or economical 
regulation or prejudice which retards production or 
consumption by enforcing idleness or an unfair ex- 
change of commodities. There could be no such 
thing as 'hard times' in a country favored by 
nature and not over-populated if there were no 
interference with the exchange of products and no 
undue appropriation of the fruits of labor by any 
41 



18 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

class, through legal or extra legal intervention. It 
happens that a large amount of the articles esteemed 
of the highest utility to the people of the United 
States are produced beyond our borders at a less 
cost of labor than they can be produced here. To 
procure these, our people naturally desire to ex- 
change for them commodities produced here at less 
cost of labor than these home commodities are pro- 
duced abroad. The exchange is mutually beneficial. 
It stimulates production at home and abroad by 
fiffordini:^ better rewards to labor. It creates com- 
merce and employs a large portion of the people in 
efFectiiiir the exchanije, thus addiniz; to the value of 
the things produced by transporting them to the 
point where they are desired ibr use. It is the 
theory of the restrictionists that this labor ex- 
pended in commerce is lost to the aggregate pro- 
ducing power. If each community produced for 
itself what it consumes this expense of transpor- 
tation would be saved. This objection is absolutely 
true within bounds. It is manifigstlv a waste of 
energy to ship raw materials from America to 
Europe to be fabricated into forms of use, and then 
ship them back, at the same time shipping to the 
laborers employed in the work abroad the food 
they eat and their means of sustenance while they 
are engaged in the manufacturing process. < Ob- 
viouslv, it would be better for the laborer abroad 
to come to the raw material. But there is a wide 
range of articles over which climate and natural 
conditions are controlling. For each country to 
attempt to produce them would be a greater w\aste 
of enerixv than occurs in the case above cited. Tlie 
inducements for every people to supply themselves 
with articles of desire by utilizing the elements 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 19 

around them care nearly always so considerable 
and so obvious as to make the interference of the 
Government unwise and injurious. The advan- 
tap:es of the cost of transportation are alwavs in 
favor of the home producer, and in every country 
where intelligence is general and capital abundant 
these advantages exclude foreign competition ex- 
cept as to commodities respecting which soil, cli- 
mate and natural conditions outweigh them. A 
people whose efforts, under the control of legisla- 
tion, are litnited to the products which are most 
easily produced in their immediate locality are 
likely to become inactive and thriftless. To such 
a high state of civilization and advancement is not 
possible. There can be little commerce among 
them, and no great accumulations of wealth. 
These are the considerations and ars^uments which 
control the opinions of the advocates of un tram- 
meled commerce, and who believe that international 
intercourse should not be hindered by taxation and 
burdens intended to thwart or control the keen per- 
ceptions of interest of the producers and consumers 
themselves." 

The same ably-edited newspaper treats the sub- 
ject of a tax on manufactures iu the following 
way : 

" It is a fact too plain to need a demonstration 
that an abundant supply of cheap raw materials 
encourages tlie manufacture of these materials into 
what are called finished products, that is, products 
ready for use. The cheaper these materials are the 
more liberally they will be manufactured, and the 



20 DCES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

dearer they are to that extent will the manufacture 
df them be discouraged. First and foremost, then, 
American manufacturing interests need an abun- 
dant supply of cheap materials, and the cheaper 
the better, for then they will be able to liold their 
own against foreign competitors. The height of 
absurdity is reached when the price of raw mate- 
rials is artificially enhanced by a government tax; 
it makes the manufacture of them more expensive, 
discourages consumption, and, consequently, dis- 
courages manufacture. 

'' But this is the very thing demanded by a small 
body of men calling themselves the National Indus- 
trial Congress that met in Chicago some time ago. 
It resolved that Congress ought to impose a protec- 
tive tax on foreign wool, hemp, flax, jute, ramie, 
sugar, beet sugar, rice, cotton-ties, cut-hoops, old 
rails, scrap iron and tin plate to stimulate the pro- 
ducti(m of these articles in this country. Of the 
articles mentioned, wool, hemp, jute, flax, ramie, 
old rails, scrap iron and tin plate are the materials 
which furnish a basis for an extensive system of 
manufactures, and, of course,"to tax these materials 
is to tax the manuf^icture of them. A tax on im- 
ported wool is oppressive to our whole system of 
woollen manuf^ictures; a tax on hemp, jute and 
ramie is a discourasrement to that lars^e and jrrow- 
ing industry engaged in making sacks, bags, gunny 
cloth, paper, twine and rope out of imported jute 
and hemp; a tax on sugar and rice increases the 
price of two necessaries of life to the whole people 
for the exclusive benefit of a few planters in small 
districts of three States; a tax on cotto!i-ties is an 
arbitrary tax on cotton-planters, and a tax on old 
rails, scrap iron and tin plate is a hardship to the 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTUREIIS? 21 

hundreds of thousands of persons engaged in work- 
ing these materials into useful fabrics. The pro- 
tectionists are eternally urging the necessity of 
protecting our home manufactures agaiust foreifm 
competition, but the A B C of their policy is a 
burdensome tax on these manufactures in the 
shape of a duty on the raw materials they work 
on. 

" Protection is a merry-go-round. Starting out 
with the assumption that consumers have no rights 
which producers are bound to respect, it encourages 
the manufacturer by incipient profits until compet- 
itive investment and over-production combine to 
squeeze his gains out of him. The protected pro- 
ducers of raw material have precisely the same ex- 
perience. The manufacturers of woollen goods, if 
they were relieved of the tax upon their raw ma- 
terial not produced in this country, would be ready 
to enter into competition in the markets of the 
world with the makers of woollen goods in any 
other country. The farmers who raise wool to 
sell do not iret quite as good prices for it as they 
did before the war. Thus both the manufacturer 
of the finished product and the producer of the raw 
material have run the gauntlet of protection from 
the gay beginning to the bitter end. They have 
overdone their home market, and must look for 
the future to trade not hemmed in by the lines 
that divide one country from another. 

" The wages of labor are regulated by the price 
labor fetches in the controlling industry of the 
country. The farmer regulates it, not tlie cluth- 
maker nor the iron maker, nor any other manufac- 
turer. The wages paid the weavers in America 
would sink as low as the wages paid them in Eng- 



22 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

land if the wages of farm labor were equivalently 
reduced. As protection lays a heavy liand upon 
aLiri(*ulture and thus diminishes the profits of the 
farmer, it diminishes the wages of all labor in like 
proportion at the same time that it enhances the 
cost of living. 

"The proof that protection is not necessary to 
the establishment of great hives of industry engaged 
in the manufacture of textile fabrics is shown by 
the remarkable growth and remarkable prosperity 
of such establishments in Eniirland where the rate 

a 

of wages has at the same time steadily increased, 
comparing favorably with every other country ex- 
cept the United States, in which the prosperity of 
the farmers has fixed a higher rate. 

"But dropping out of consideration the wages of 
labor, there is no dispute as to the fact that the 
Government is collecting from the people a vast 
yearly sum of money that is not needed for neces- 
sary expenditure." 

The Philadelphia Record^ a very ably edited 
newspaper, says : 

" No city and State of the Union have so great 
an interest as Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in 
free wool, free iron and copper ores, free coal, and 
other raw materials of manufacturing industry. 
Upon the manufacturers and workingmen of this 
city and State the government could confer no 
boon so great as to remove its heavy hand from 
these raw materials, so that they may no longer be 
prohibited from obtaining cheap and abundant sup- 
plies. By putting these materials upon the free 
list the government would enable the skill, capital 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 23 

and enterprise of Philadelphia and the State to 
compete with foreign rivals on equal terms in the 
markets of the world. All other governments 
whose people make any pretensions to trade and 
manufactures admit wool, hemp, jute, coal, iron 
and copper ores, chemicals and dyestuffs free of 
duty. The manufacturers of this country alone 
are handicapped with heavy taxes upon the coarse 
materials which they change into forms of use and 
luxury. 

" The necessit^^ of creating outward markets for 
the products of the manufacturing skill of Phila- 
delphia must be obvious. Great and varied as are 
the manufactured commodities of this city, she has 
rivals that are rapidly encroaching on her domain. 
A glance at the returns will show this. According 
to the census of 1880 the manufactured products 
of Philadelphia amounted in v»alue to something 
over three hundred million dollars. The total 
value of the manufactures of Chicago and St. 
Louis ill the same year amounted to nearly three 
liundred and fifty million dollars. It Ikis been as- 
serted that these returns are not trustworthy, but 
they are accurate enough for the present purpose. 
The leading manufactures of Chicago and St. 
Louis are the same as Philadelphia's, and those 
cities supply a great internal trade which is nar- 
rowing for this city every year. Philadelphia is 
on the outer rim of this great home market, and 
none understand what that means so well as her 
merchants and manufacturers. If there were no 
tariff Chicago and St. Louis would be protected 
from foreign competition by cost of railroad trans- 
portation for heavy freights. From the competi- 
tion of Philadelphia they are protected by the 



24 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

same cause. While the tariff gives the manufac- 
turers and workinginen of this seaboard city no 
outlet to foreign markets for their surplus products, 
for purposes of domestic trade they would be better 
situated if a thousand miles inland. They would 
have cheaper and more abundant raw nuiterials, 
and a widening instead of a narrowing market for 
their products. 

'^ In this situation, is not a removal of the heavy 
tariff restrictions upon trade in the manifest in- 
terest of Philadelphia? If the inland traffic must 
grow less by reason of domestic competition, there 
are great regions beyond the seas which would af- 
ford ample markets for its surplus productions. 
South America, the West Indies, Australia and the 
new Con<]:o reirion invite an immense traffic, of 
which Philadelphia would have a fair share. To 
woo this trade it is vainly proposed in Congress to 
grant heavy subsidies to steamship companies to 
carry empty mail bags back and forward to ports 
with which the country has no commerce. This 
is beginning at the wrong end. The only true 
policy is to strip production of the burdensome 
taxes upon raw materials and the necessaries of 
living. Ameiican skill, energy, and power of or- 
ganization may be depended upon for the rest. 
The great advantage's of Philadelphia's situation 
on the seaboard would then be fullv realized. For- 
eign markets w^ould be opened for its surplus pro- 
ducts of manufacturing industry and artistic skill. 
Labor would share larger profits of production and 
the purchasing power of its wages would be en- 
hanced. The wharves of the Delaware would be 
lined with ships bearing the spoils of commerce 
from every sea. Give the merchants, manufactur- 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 



ZO 



ers and workingmen of Philadelphia a living 
chance, and they will ask no boot from any 
quarter." 

Congress even admitted that the high duty on 
raw materials makes a successful competition of 
our manufactures on foreign markets an impossi- 
bility. For that reason a law has been passed to 
refund the duties paid on any materials used in 
such manufactures when exported. During the 
depression prevailing in 1878 and 1879 great use 
was made of this opportunity, and an actual re- 
fund was made amounting to more than $3,000,- 
000 in each of those years. When prices ad- 
vanced rapidly in 1880 the advantage of this ex- 
port trade was much reduced, and gradually it fell 
off as a leading subject of attention on the part of 
manufacturers. It can now be resumed with much 
better general preparation, and much superior ar- 
ticles; as a rule, manufacturers of metals are most 
favored, especially of tin-plate, sheet iron, struc- 
tural iron, and many forms of steel manufactures. 
A large amount of such manufactures continues to 
be exported, with an annual refund of about 
$1,000,000 paid in duties on the imported tin-plate 
alone, and nearly as much more on iron and stei'l 
manufactures of other kinds. The law is general 
and its administration under regulation by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, on application of per- 
sons desiring to avail themselves of it, and these 
regulations are not made in advance of such ap- 



26 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

plication, for which reason it is very imperfectly 
known to the general public. Specific calculations 
are made of the proportion of foreign materials 
used in making shovels or other tools, for instance, 
and the refund is allowed on the ordinary desiirna- 
tion of quantities, as 70 cents per dozen of shovels, 
ji sum per gross on tin cans, etc. When such cal- 
culations are prepared the export quantity is cer- 
tified on the invoice and the refund order prepared. 
About 200 classes of manufactures now actually 
use this law; among them, axes, bags of jute, 
boxes of tin, bolts and nuts, cans, copper and cop- 
per articles, cordage in large quantity, chains, 
wheat flour, gunpowder, guns and ammunition of 
all kinds, lead manufactures, linseed oil and cake, 
castor oil and cake, leather, locomotive tires, nails 
and nail rods, sugar (refined), rice (cleaned), 
shovels and spades, sirup, solder, wire and wire 
rope, zinc and zinc maruifiictures, woollen fabrics 
(when wholly of wool), and many others. The 
official schedule of desiirnated articles now covers 
four pages, closely printed, and it might be three- 
fold extended, even with the law as it is. 

PROFESSOR SUMNER ON FREE TRADE. 

In February, 1884, Professor William G. Sum- 
ner, of Yale College, lectured before the citizens of 
Media, Pa., on free trade. He spoke as follows : 

" To come to Pennsylvania to advocate free 
trade," said the Professor, by way of preface, " was 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 27 

similar to going to South Carolina before the war 
to preach abolitionism. He who would have ar- 
gued that negroes Avere worth more as free men 
than as slaves would have been regarded as a 
theorizer and an impracticable man. Yet to-day 
theory has become practice there. There are two 
kinds of protection. One is illustrated by a story 
told in a Philadelphia paper of a man who asked 
a prominent railroad man if he did not know that 
the solvency of his company depended on a duty 
of 75 cents on every ton of coal shipped to the 
New England manufacturers from abroad, and if 
he were not ashamed to ally himself with Mr. 
Carlisle, who wished to get that tax removed? 
Tt is the case of a man having another down and 
robbing him. Against this vulgar protection no 
argument need be used. Another kind is that 
which aims to build up * industries.' 

'•What is an industry! A so-called industry 
that is supported by taxes is only a burden ; it is 
worse than useless. A business that is self-sup- 
porting is an industry. An industry built on 
taxes is sure to fall. When an individual must 
be taxed to support an 'industry' that industry 
should die. You can never make a people rich by 
imposing taxes. To try to do so is equivalent to 
trying to raise yourself by means of your boot- 
straps. You can make more money out of the 
prosperity of your fellows than by taxing them. 

" Free traders oifer no generalizations that are 
not derived from the observation of facts. Pro- 
tectionists are not up to the level of the question. 
They imagine it has something to do with Adam 
Smith or with England. A free trader cares noth- 
ing for England. It is a question of America 



28 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

and American interests. There is much foolish 
talk about Enghind getting into our markets. 
How is she to get into our markets more than we 
get into hers? Why shall we go and buy goods 
of England unless we find it to our advantage? 
Sixty per cent, of our exports go to England. 
Why, then, quarrel with our best customer? Forty 
per cent, of our exchanges are from Great Britain. 
Twenty-six per cent, of our imports are from Great 
Britain. How does she pay us the balance ? She 
sends goods to Cuba, Brazil, China and Java, and 
receives in return sugar, coffee and tea, which she 
sells to us, charging us two profits. She does our 
bankin.i2j for us and makes a profit on that. Out- 
side of a few philosophers and humanitarians no 
one in England cares for free trade in this country. 
They have the markets of the world. Why should 
they desire us to enter as competitors? 

" The question of protection cuts down to the 
very bottom of the foundation of society. To talk 
about protection to a man who knows anything 
about the part trade has played in civilization is 
like talking to a chemist about alchemy. It is 
useless to refer to past ages for proofs of the bless- 
ings of free trade or protection. Society is essen- 
tially different in this age of railroads and tele- 
graphs. The question is how can 50,000,000 of 
people get the most possible out of the country. 
All will agree that they should live as well as they 
can and get as much out of life as they can. To 
impose taxes upon them is like striking so much 
out of the productive power of the soil. 

" Protection must be paid for. If one cent comes 
into my pocket through this law that would not 
have come otherwise, where does it come from ? 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 29 

It must be taken from some individual. Does any 
one know of a way of producing wealth except by 
the application of labor and capital to land ? Tiiere 
is no other way. A protectionist says : ' I cainiot 
produce 2 cents worth for 2 cents; therefore, tax 
this man I cent so that I may get 3 cents, for 2 
cents worth.' But every man has the right to get 
the best that the state of the market of 1884 will 
allow. That industry which we all have to carry 
along is one that does not pay. If you can't com- 
pete with others, then don't. 

If I cannot compete with some one else in run- 
ning a bank, then I had better not try it. They 
say they will make the country rich by creating 
industries. What is an industry? A gymnasium 
is not an industry, but it is not destroying any- 
thing. A lunatic asylum is a burden on society. 
Nobody thinks an asylum is an industry. A fancy 
farm is not an industry. One may say it is worse 
than an asylum. When it takes one dollar's worth 
of capital to get one potato, the farm is using up 
the wealth of the country. A protected indus- 
try is exactly like the fancy farm, except that the 
farm is paid for by the man who is running it. 
If an industry doesn't pay without the tariff, then it 
does not pay under the tariff. If a man carries on 
that industry by aid which Congress gives him, then 
he is using other people's wealth. The biggest fal- 
lacies in the world can be hidden behind big figures. 
You should go behind the returns. 

" Take the case of pig-iron in 1880 : 

Capital invested .^ §105,000,000 

Hands employed 41,<(M> 

Wages 812,000,000 



30 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

Average per day 61.00 

General average in manufactures 1.17 

Product, tons 3,700.000 

Imports, tons 600,000 

Revenue $4,300,000 

Tax on home product (same rate as duty on 

imports) \ $25,900,000 

" Deducting from this full wages and 10 per cent. 
on capital, leaves a net gain of $2,800,000. The 
tax in 1880 was 37 per cent, on value of imports; 
hence we get the proportion, 11 : 8 : : 89 : 64.7, the 
value of the home product in a free market, the 
net loss being $89,000,000 minus $64,700,000, or 
$24,300,000, from which deduct the wages paid 
and 10 per cent, on capital, and we have the sum 
of $1,200,000 as the saving that would have re- 
sulted if all the men employed in this industry had 
been paid the same wages to sit still, and the capi- 
tal been paid 10 per cent, for lying idle, while we 
purchased in a free market. These figures cannot 
be got over. 

^'Take the manufactures of Massachusetts, Con- 
necticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsyl- 
vania : 



Mass... . 
Conn... . 

R.l 

N. J... 
Peuna. . 


Capital. 

.. $303,(:00.000 
.. 120,000000 
. . 75.000.(X)0 
10G.(<((I0<0 
. . 474,000,000 

$1 ,078,000,000 

cent, on capital 


Hands. 

353,000 
113,000 
63, < 00 
126,000 
387,000 


Wa^es. 
$128,000,000 
43,500.000 
21,: 00,000 
46.000,000 
134.000,000 

$372,800,000 


Prodnct. 
$631,000,000 
185,000,000 
104,100,000 
254,(!00,(;00 
744,8v0,000 


Five per 

Wages . . 


1,042,000 


$1,918,900,0(^.0 
$o3 900 000 






. . . 372 800,000 













Total $426,700,000 

equal to 28 per cent, of $1,918,900,000, or, if $1,- 
918,900,000 contains the tax, then $1,918,900— 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS. 31 

$426,700,000 ==$1,492,200,000. 1492.2: 1918.9: : 
100: 128; or, if the tax goes above 28 per cent., it 
would pay better to pay all wages and 5 per cent, 
on capital to buy off the industries; 28 per cent, 
tax = 11 cents on 8 cents worth. 

'' If it is true that New England industries can- 
not live without protective taxes, then New Eul^- 
land is not supporting herself, but is livini,^ olf 
the rest of tlie country; then her beautiful villages 
are a bonus received from the South and West. 
According to the statements of the protectionists, 
this is true. The speaker would not admit it. 
As a New England man he said if she cannot live 
without taxing others, then let her go. 

" We can never get rich by plundering each 
other. Is it not plain that all Americans support 
all Americans out of American soil? Then let 
each American look out for himself. But I am 
told it is for the benefit of the whole that I am to 
be taxed. When I subscribe to a charitable enter- 
prise I want to do it on my own account. I don't 
want you to say I must pay to keep up this factory. 
Who is going to take the profits? 

"A distinguished public man asked whether if 
New York prospered did not Missouri prosper. 
If he meant that New York prospered by her own 
unaided industry, no community in the world could 
fail to share in her prosperity. But if New York 
grows rich by plundering Missouri, how can Mis- 
souri share in New York's prosperity? Who, then, 
down at the bottom must pay for this thing? Tlie 
different States cannot get rich by plundering each 
other. Nothing can result but great waste of 
wealth. Mutual taxation is mutual injustice. 

" The industry that supports anotlier is one able 



32 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

to go alone. The lame ducks cannot carry the 
lame ducks. We have crippled our commerce ; it 
was the weakest. Now agriculture bears the bur- 
den. But the farmer is told that he is saved from 
competition. He cannot afford to buy oft' compe- 
tition, for it must be repeated every year. The 
stockholder of a railroad who rides on the road 
that he may increase the dividends is wise com- 
pared with the farmer who buys off* competition. 
Our farmers need to be saved from the competition 
of Russia and India. They can compete with these 
countries only by being released from their burdens 
here. Mr. Porter v»^rote from England sad stories 
of poverty and desolation there. The exact logic 
of those letters was hard to understand. He had 
better have gone to New England, where he could 
have found poverty none the less dire because it 
was sought to be concealed. There, among the 
New Enghmd farmers, can be seen the pinching 
effects of the protective system. Ground down be- 
tween free competition with the West and the bur- 
dens of taxation, they are abandoning their farms 
and leaving the country. 

'' They would create a market. A market is 
nothing but a lot of men with products of their 
own to exchange for other products. Will they 
create men? A market is 'a man who has pro- 
duced something which he wants to exchan^re for 
something else.' Anything which lessens the sup- 
pi}^ of commodities lessens the market. It is, in 
fact, brutal and crippling. If you lay a tax on 
steel, you cripple a half-dozen industries. The in- 
dustries of iron, steel, etc., are worse off* to-day than 
if taxes were removed. To tax an immediate 
product of the earth is absurd. If you can't afford 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 33 

to get your coal without taxes, then you can't af- 
ford to live here. People are leaving Ireland be- 
cause it is hard to get a living there. There is no 
reason why they should remain. If Pennsylvania 
had but one industry, the people would have to 
live by extracting iron and exchanging it for other 
things. They might have nothing else and live in 
great plenty. If others could produce iron cheaper 
than Pennsylvania then your ancestors would have 
^-^0 a mistake by coming here. If, however, you 
cah produce wheat and iron both and some one else 
cal. 'Produce iron cheaper than you, let the iron 
conv) m. Those who raised wheat before will still 
raisir it for home consumption, while the others 
wilt raise wheat in exchange for iron, and you will 
have more iron than while producing both wheat 
arid iron. 

" We hear much about keeping up the standard 
of American labor above the low level of the 
pauper labor of Europe. It seems that we have 
adopted a standard to which we must lift up our 
laborers. If this is true every shipload of immi- 
grants is a public calamity. When they leave 
Europe they are paupers; when they land here 
they become Americans and must be elevated in 
their turn. 

^' How do we elevate the American laborer by 
means of the tariff? He looks through window 
glass, if not over 10x15, that costs him 11 cents 
for 7 cents worth ; his putty 5 cents for 4 cents 
worth ; his paper hangings 19 cents for 14 cents 
worth; furniture, 19 cents for 14 cents worth; 
paint, 4 cents for 3 cents worth ; boards, 10 cents 
for 9 cents worth ; gas-pipes, cast, 3 cents for 2 
cents worth; wrought, 11 cents for 7 cents worth; 

42 



34 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

lead pipes, 8 cents for 5 cents worth ; oil-cloth, 7 
cents for 5 cents worth ; drugget, 2 cents for 1 cent's 
worth ; ingrain carpet, 3 cents for 2 cents worth ; 
bedstead, 19 cents for 14 cents worth ; sheets, 3 
cents for 2 cents worth ; blankets — the cheapest — 
2 cents for 1 cent's worth ; linen, 7 cents for 5 cents 
worth; shirting, 3 cents for 2 cents worth; buttons, 13 
cents for 10 cents worth ; woolens and flannel, 7 cents 
for 4 cents worth ; his suspenders cost him 19 cents 
for 14 cents worth ; woolen socks, 19 cents for 10 
cents worth ; cotton do. 19 cents for 14 cents 
worth; woolen shirts, 16 cents for 10 cents worth ; 
cotton shirts and drawers, 19 cents for 14 cents 
worth ; brush, 7 cents for 5 cents worth ; combs, 
19 cents for 14 cents worth ; soap, 3 cents for 2 
cents worth; shoes (leather), 13 cents for 10 cents 
worth ; straw hat, 7 cents for 5 cents worth ; wool 
hat, 11 cents for 7 cents worth ; watch, 5 cents for 
4 cents worth ; new crj'stal, when he breaks one, 
7 cents for 4 cents worth. 

"Now look at his wife. He pays for her cotton 
dress at the rate of 3 cents for 2 cents worth ; woolen 
dress, 5 cents for 3 cents; balmoral, 2 cents for 1 
cent's worth ; rubbers, cheapest, 13 cents for 10 cents; 
needles, 5 cents for 4 cents; emery, 6 cents for 5 
cents; cotton thread, 7 cents for 4 cents; do. linen, 
7 cents for 5 cents ; pins, 19 cents for 14 cents ; 
scissors, 19 cents for 14 cents; hairpins, 3 cents for 
2 cents; furs, 6 cents for 5 cents; bonnets, 7 cents 
for 5 cents; braids and plaits for bonnets, 13 cents 
for 10 cents; ribbons, 8 cents for 5 cents. If after 
all this he can get her a silk dress, he pays 8 cents 
for 5 cents worth; silks, buttons, fringes, handker- 
chiefs, ribbons, braid, 8 cents for 5 cents worth; 
sewing silk, 7 cents for 5 cents worth; umbrellas^ 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 35 

or parasols of silk or alpaca 8 cents for 5 cents 
worth ; or of cotton, 3 cents for 2 cents worth. 
For laces she must pay 13 cents for 10 cents; real 
diamonds, 10 cents for 9 cents worth, hut for paste 
diamonds 7 cents for 5 cents worth. Real diamonds 
interfere with no industry in this country. For 
the rearing of his child he must pay for infant lood 
6 cents for 5 cents; medicine, 10 cents for 7 cents; 
castor oil, 8 cents for 6 cents ; licorice paste, 7 cents 
for 4 cents; embroideries, 19 cents for 14 cents; 
cotton braids, cords, gimps, laces, 19 cents for 14 
cents; for dolls and toys, 7 cents for 5 cents; 
sponge, 6 cents for 5 cents ; soap, 3 cents for 2 
cents. 

"Now let us follow this young couple through 
their housekeeping. For their brooms they pay 
19 cents for 14 cents worth ; mat, 13 cents for 10 
cents worth ; bathbrick, 6 cents for 5 cents ; can- 
dles, 5 cents for 4 cents ; starch, 9 cents for 4 cents; 
polishing powder, 5 cents for 4 cents; and (if it is 
needed) insect powder, 6 cents for 5 cents worth. 
Their matches cost 19 cents for 14 cents worth ; 
stoves, 3 cents for 2 cents worth; paper costs 35 
per cent, extra ; fire-shovel, 50 per cent. ; zinc, 3 
cents for 2 cents; coal, 5 cents for 4 cents; copper, 
13 cents for 9 cents; baskets, 19 cents for 14 cents; 
willow ware, 18 cents for 14 cents; wooden ware, 
19 cents for 14 cents; japanned ware, 7 cents for 
5 cents ; pev/ter, 19 cents for 14 cents w^orth. Brit- 
annia costs 19 cents for 14 cents; hollow ware, 4 
cents foi 3 cents; block tin, 1 cent for 1 cent's 
worth; plain white crockery, 13 cents for 9 cents; 
glassware, 19 cents for 14 cents worth. 

When the man goes out to do some tinkering he 
handles tools of iron or steel for which he pays 7 



36 DOES niGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

cents for 6 cents worth ; nails, 7 cents for 5 cent«; 
Jiorsesboe nails, 11 cents for 8 cents ; tacks, 19 cents 
for 10 cents, or 3 cents for 2 cents, according to size; 
screws, according to size, 11 cents for 6 cents or 11 
cents for 7 cents; hinges, 6 cents for 5 cents ; hard- 
ware, 13 cents for 10 cents; isaws, 5 cents for 3 
cents or 7 cents for 5 cents ; pocket-knife, 3 cents 
for 2 cents; tools, 19 cents for 14 cents; chains, 
8 cents for 5 cents ; brass goods, 19 cents for 14 
cents ; lead, 8 cents for 5 cents ; white lead, 3 cents 
for 2 cents ; red lead, 12 cents for 7 cents ; for his 
lead pencil he pays 14 cents for 9 cents worth; pens, 
11 cents for 7 cents; ink, 19 cents for 14 cents; 
paper, 19 cents for 14 cents ; newspaper, 6 cents 
for 6 cents worth of the paper itself; books, 5 cents 
for 4 cents ; blacking, 13 cents for 10 cents ; refined 
petroleum, 5 cents for 3 cents ; crude petroleum, 2 
cents for 1 cent; linseed oil, 12 cents for 7 cents; 
salt, 12 cents for 7 cents; garden seeds, 6 cents for 

5 cents ; cement, 6 cents for 5 cents ; gunpowder, 
19 cents for 12 cents worth ; slates, 19 cents for 14 
cents. 

" We have corn laws in this country, and the 
laborer puts on his table wheat flour that costs him 

6 cents for 5 cents worth ; buckwheat, 6 cents fosj 
5 cents; rice, 21 cents for 10 cents; oatmeal, 11 cents 
for 10 cents; potatoes, 4 cents for 3 cents; bread- 
stuffs, 13 cents for 10 cents; provisions, 6 cents for 
5 cents; vegetables, 11 cents for 10 cents; salt, 15 
cents for 11 cents; vinegar, 3 cents for 2 cents; 
catsup, 7 cents for 5 cents ; fruits and nuts, 5 cents 
for 4 cents worth; pickles, 19 cents for 14 cents 
worth. Tea and coflee he gets free. For sugar he 
pays 3 cents for 2 cents worth; toothpicks, 6 cents 
for 5 cents. This is his "free breakfast table." He 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 37 

pays on an average 10 cents for 7 cents worth of 
what he puts upon it. 

"According to the theory of protection natural 
resource is a national caLamity. We get tin, cent's 
worth for cent's worth, because we have discovered 
no tin mine in this country. Should one be dis- 
covered some one will get 40 per cent, duty put 
on. If we have a poor potato year we cannot 
bring them from New Brunswick or Bermuda 
without paying a tax upon them, yet we liave a 
free ' breakfast table.' The averacce increased 
cost of living is 10 per cent. A man must earn 
his money unless he gets it from the man next be- 
hind him, and he may get it from the one behind 
him, and so on until the man pays it who earns it. 
He always pays at last. 

" The tariff is an entirely impracticable thing; 
the only practicable thing is free trade. If the 
protective theory is sound. Congress must devise a 
perfectly harmonious system to embrace all the 
multifarious and constantly increasing interests of 
the country; something in the power of Almighty 
God alone. The system cannot last. Every day 
some one invents something else. The only way 
of arranging the tariff is to give a tax to every one 
who wants it, and as large as opposing interests 
will allow. The interests are so complicated that 
it is monstrous to think of such a theory. If you 
can't arrange a system satisfactorily there must be 
something wrong with the theory of the system. 
Protectionists are never satisfied with the tariff. 
The Tariff Commission Avas gotten up by protec- 
tionists. A tariff cannot be made to suit every- 
body except when there is no tariff at all. It 
would cause less distress to abolish the tariff in six 



38 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR 

months than we have endured in 1883. A Presi- 
dential election does more injury to business. The 
tariff system is opposed to every improvement. 
Tunnel a mountain and you must impose a tax to 
counterbalance the good effects. The surplus is 
another obstacle to the practicability of the tariff. 
When you propose to take the taxes off you are 
told of vested interests. A free people cannot re- 
move their taxes. The tariff is impracticable be- 
cause of its injustice. Men will always be found 
to agitate against it. You can settle no question 
until you settle it right. When the question is 
put to the American people as a question of right 
they will say a man ought to have the right to ex- 
change the products of his labor where he can get 
the most benefit for himself We will not rest 
until we have not only free soil, free speech, free 
men, but, the climax of all, Free Trade." 

No nation or community ever succeeded in 
taxing itself into prosperity. What a few may 
gain by protective taxation must be paid by the 
many. Tiiere are instances in which enterpris- 
ing nations have advanced in spite of taxes upon 
their industry and obstructions of their trade, 
and some foolish protectionists point to this 
prosperity as evidence of the advantages of 
their system. They simply mistake a curse for a 
blessing. 

It is asserted by the friends of the tariff that the 
high duties serve only to afford a revenue to the 
general government, and thus supply it with the 
means of meeting its enormous expenses. But the 
burden upon the people consists not so much in the 
taxes they pay upon the foreign goods they pur- 



OR ONLY A FEW MANUFACTURERS? 39 

chase, as in the enormous tribute they pay to the 
American manufacturer. The bulk of the manu- 
factured goods sold in the country are made here, 
and the high prices kept up by the operations of 
the tariff compel the people to pay to the American 
manufacturer an undue share of their earniuf^s for 
his wares. Let us suppose that the duty on blankets 
was 25 per cent, instead of 90 per cent. Sixty- 
five per cent, on every pair of blankets would be 
saved to the purchaser. Instead of being forced to 
pay $8.50 for American blankets, and $9.50 for 
English blankets, we should pay for English 
blankets $6.25, and if the American manufacturer 
wished to undersell his English rival, he would be 
able to charge but from $5 to $6 for his blankets. 
The general government would receive a duty of 
25 per cent, on all foreign blankets, and the people 
would be freed from their tribute to the American 
manufacturer. 

It is useless to talk of the injury to the revenue 
which would result from a lower tariff. The 
tariff, as at present arranged, is not designed for 
the benefit of the government. It is arranged for 
the benefit of a small class of capitalists, who are 
allowed by Congress to plunder the nation for 
their individual profit. The government receives 
comparatively little benefit from the heavy bur- 
dens placed upon the nation. The vast sums 
thus exacted flow into the pockets of the manu- 
facturers. 

It is to the interest of every consumer that the 
market be thrown open to a fair and full competi- 
tion, which will of necessity result in a decline of 
prices. The saving to the purchasing class of the 
country will be counted by millions. The vast 



40 DOES HIGH TARIFF BENEFIT LABOR? 

majority of the American people will be immensely 
benefited, and people of moderate means, and es- 
pecially the poor, will be relieved of one of their 
heaviest burdens. 

There is no good reason why the entire nation 
should be compelled to pay prices out of all pro- 
portion to the value of the article puichased, in 
order that a few manufacturers may amass large 
fortunes in an unnaturally short period. The people 
have the right to arrange their industrial system 
so that they shall pay a fair price for their 
purchases and no more. They have a riglit to 
protect themselves from robbers and plunderers, 
under whatever guise these enemies may assail 
them. 

Theoretically, the people are the source of power 
under our system of government, and Presidents 
and Congressmen are but their servants, charged 
with the execution of their wishes. But is this so 
in practice ? Is the Congress of the United States 
the true exponent of the popular will ? Do the 
people really sanction the " land grab," the Credit 
Mobilier swindle, the numerous jobs and schemes 
which plunder the people, and enrich a few un- 
scrupulous individuals, and which bear the stamp 
of Congressional approval ? Are the people really 
engaged in robbing themselves? It is absurd to 
ask the question. 



Appendix J. 



NATIONAL CONVENTIONS 

OF THE 

DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 

Before the year 1831 there was no national 
assemblage of party men, for the nomination of 
President and Vice-President, held in the United 
States. In this year a Convention was held by the 
anti-Masonic party, the principles of which were, 
in everything excepting antagonism to the Masonic 
order, the same as the Whigs. Henry Clay, a 
Mason, was the candidate of the Whigs, and this 
led to the independent action of those antagonizing 
the Masonic cause. In the following year the 
Democrats as well as the Whigs inaugurated the 
National Convention system. Prior to 1832 the 
legislatures of the States expressed their prefer- 
ences, or the nominations were made by an under- 
standing, that each party would support candidates 
for President and Vice-President who were entitled 
to such high honor on account of their distin- 
guished services. Up to the year ISOO the two 
candidates receiving the highest number of elec- 
toral votes were declared President and Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States respectively. 

That year Congressional caucuses nominated two 
candidates for President, in order that one of them 

(1) 



2 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OP 

should be second highest and become "Vice-President. 
Congressional, legislative and other caucuses of 
leading party men were held until superseded by 
National Conventions in 1832. 

Taking the anti-Federalist party of Jefferson as 
the root of the present Democratic party, it is fol- 
lowed down through the Republican-Democratic 
party and the Jackson men in their different cau- 
cuses, conventions, etc. 

The anti-Federalist party, in 1792, supported 
Washington for President in common witii practi- 
cally all others of no matter what sentiment on 
national affairs. Supported George Clintou of New 
York for secoud place, as against John Adams. 

Tlie Republican party supported Thomas Jeffer- 
son and Aaron Burr in 1790. 

The Republican Congressional caucus- nominated 
Jefferson and Burr in 1800. 

The Republican party supported Jefferson and 
George Clinton of New York in 180-i. 

The Republican Congressional caucus nominated 
James Madison and George Clinton in 1^08. 

The Republican Congressional caucus, in 1812, 
renouiinated Madison, with Gerry, of Massachu- 
setts, for Vice-President. 

The Republican Congressional caucus, in 1816, 
nominated James Monroe, of Virginia, and Daniel 
D. Tom[)kins, of New York. 

The Republicans, in 1820, made no nomination. 
No opposition to Monroe and Tompkins. 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 3 

The Strict Constitutionalists, in 1824, made no 
nominations. Party divided in support of Win. H. 
Crawford, of Georgia, and Andrew Jaekson, of Ten- 
nessee. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, sup- 
ported by nearly all for Vice-President. 

The Democratic party, in 1828, supported Jnck- 
son, of Tennessee, and Calhoun, of South Carolina, 
for President and Vice-President. 

The Democratic National party, met at Balti- 
more, May 12, 1832. General Lucas was unani- 
mously elected permanent president, and John A. 
DIx permanent secretary. On the fir>t ballot the 
States voted as follows : Maine 10 for Van Buren, 
New Hampshire 7, Massachusetts 14, Rhode Island 
4, Connecticut 8, Vermont 7, New York 42, New 
Jersey 8, Pennsylvania 30, Delaware 3, and Mary- 
land 7, and 3 for Barbour, of Virginia. Virginia 
voted 23 for Barbour, and North Carolina 9 for Van 
Buren and 6 for Barbour, South Carolina 11 for Bar- 
bour, Georgia 11 for Van Buren, Alabama 1 Van 
Buren, 6 Barbour, Mississippi 4 Van Buren, Louisi- 
ana 5, Tennessee 15, Ohio 21, Illinois 2 Van Buren 
and 2 R. M. Johnson ; Kentucky voted solid fur 
Johnson, and Indiana 9 for Johnson. Van Buren 
208, Barbour 49, Johnson 26. The convention 
adopted a strong resolution indorsing tlie nomina- 
tion of A. Jackson for President. 

The Democratic National party met at Balti- 
more, May, 1836. — Called to order by Hon. George 
Creamer, of Pennsylvania. Hon. Andrew Steven- 



4 KATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

son, of Virginia, appointed president. Of the dif- 
ferent State delegations appointed to attend the 
convention, that of Illinois was unable to be present, 
but sent a series of resolutions, in which they were 
instructed to vote for Martin Van Buren. of New 
York, for President, and Richard M. Johnson, of 
Kentucky, for Vice-President. On the third day, 
a resolution that the votes of two-thirds of the 
delegates should be required to constitute a nomi- 
nation was carried. States represented : Maine 10, 
New Hampshire 7, Vermont 7, Massachusetts 14, 
Connecticut 8, Rhode Island 4, New York 42, New 
Jersey 8, Delaware 3, Pennsylvania 30, Maryland 
10, Virginia 23, North CaroHna 15, Georgia 11, 
Tennessee 15, Ohio 21, Indiana 9, Mississippi 4, 
Louisiana 5, Missouri 4, — total 265 — all of which 
were voted for M. Van Buren for President of the 
United States on the first ballot. For Vice-Presi- 
dtfut Johnson received the votes of New Hampshire, 
Vermont, 4 of the 10 of Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, New York, Delaware, Pennsjdvania, 
Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, 
Louisiana, Missouri; W. C. Rives, of Virginia, 
received the votes of Maine, 10 of Massachusetts, 

10 of Maryland, 23 Virginia, 15 North Carolina, 

11 Georgia — total 86. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Baltimore, May 5, 1840. — Gov. William Carroll, of 
Tennessee, president. Delegates present from 21 
States. On the 6th a resolution was unanimously 



THE DExMOCRATIC PARTY. 5 

adopted nominating Martin Van Burcn for the 
Presidency. Another resolution declaring it expe- 
dient to waive nomination for Vice-President, and 
leave it for each State to nominate its own candi- 
date for Vice-President was passed. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Baltimore, May 27, 1844.— Hon. R. M. Sanders, 
of North Carolina, called the convention to order. 
Henry B. Wright, of Pennsylvania, chairman. 
Twenty-five States represented, South Carolina 
sending no delegation. On the first hallot Van 
Buren received 14G votes, 2d 127, 3d 121, 4th HI, 
5th 103, 6th 101, 7th 99. Johnson, 1st 24, 2d 33, 
3d 38, 4th 32, 5th 29, 6th 23, 7th 21. Buchanan, 
1st 4, 2d 9, 3d 11, 4th 17, 5th 26, 6th 25, 7th 22. 
Cass, 1st 83, 2d 94, 3d 92, 4th 105, 5th 107, 6th 
116, 7th 123. There were 266 delegates, requir- 
ing 178 votes to nominate. On the eighth hallot 
Van Buren received 104, Cass 114, Polk 41, Bu- 
chanan 2, Calhoun 2. On the ninth James K. Polk 
received every vote in convention : Maine 9, New 
Hampshire 6, Massachusetts 12, Connecticut 6, 
Rhode Island 4, New York 36, New Jersey 7, 
Pennsylvania 26, Delaware 3, Maryland 8, Vir- 
ginia 17, North Carolina 11, Georgia 10, Alabama 
9, Mississippi 6, Louisiana 6, Kentucky 12, Ten- 
nessee 13, Ohio 23, Michigan 5, Indiana 12, Illi- 
nois 9, Missouri 7, Arkansas 3. For the Vice- 
Presidency Silas Wright, of New York, was 
declared the nominee, receiving unanimous vote 



b NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

of all States except Georgia, which gave 2 for 
Wright and 8 for Levi Woodbury. Mr. Wright 
declined the nomination next day. On first ballot 
Fairfield, of Maine, received 87 ; Woodbury, of 
New Hampshire, 56 ; Cass, of Michigan, 29 ; 
Johnson, of Kentucky, 26; Stewart 23, Dallas 13, 
Marcy 5. On third ballot Dallas, of Pennsylvania, 
was nominated by a vote of 220, by 30 for Fairfield 
and 6 for Woodbury. 

The National party, Tyler, met at Baltimore, 
May 27, 1844.— M. Shaler, of New York, chairman. 
Joel W. White, of Connecticut, was subsequently 
made president. Convention appointed a com nut- 
tee of seven to desisrnate a candidate for Vice- 
President on the ticket with Tyler, but Tyler 
subsequently withdrew, and that was the end of 
the convention. - 

The National Democratic Convention met at Bal- 
timore, May 22, 1848. — Hon. J. S. Brice, of Louisi- 
ana, temporary chairman. Twenty-nine States rep- 
resented. Permanent chairman, Andrew Steven- 
son, of Virginia. Among the delegates from New 
York to this convention was Mr. Tilden. Simon 
Cameron, of Pennsylvania, was another delegate. 
Four ballots were cast: Buchanan receiving on 
1st 55, 2d 54, 3d 40, 4th 33. Woodbury, 1st 53, 
2d 56, 3d 53, 4th 38. Cass, 1st 125, 2d 133, 3d 
156, 4th 179, who was declared the nominee. 
There being 251 votes, 168 were required to nomi- 
nate. Dallas, Calhoun and Worth received scatter- 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 7 

ing votes on the different ballots. William 0. But- 
ler, of Kentucky; General John A. Quitman, of 
Mississippi; Gen. B. D. Howard, of iMaryland; 
John Y. Mason, of Virginia; William R. King, of 
Alabama; James J. McKaig, of North Carolina, 
were nominated for Vice-President. Gen. Howard 
declined being considered a candidate, and on the 
first ballot Butler received 114, Quitman 74, Mason 
24, King 26, and McKaig 13. On the second, l^ut- 
ler 167, Quitman 61, Mason 5, King 9, McKaig 11. 
Numerous changes of votes were made, and Butler 
finally nominated unanimously. 

Free-Soil party, met at Buffalo, August 9, 1848. 
— Nathaniel Sawyer, of Ohio, temporary chairman. 
Charles F. Adams, of Massachusetts, permanent 
chairman. On first ballot, taken August 10, Van 
Buren was nominated by 154 to 129 for Mr. Halo, 
and Charles Francis Adams nominated for Vice- 
President by acclamation. 

Democratic party, met at Baltimore, June 1, 
1852.— Called to order by B. F. Hallett, of Massa- 
chusetts, chairman of National Democratic Com- 
mittee. Gen. Romulus Sanders, of North Carolina, 
president j:>ro tern. Thirty States represented. South 
Carolina sending no delegation. Among the dele- 
gates were Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, Ilen- 
drick B. Wright, of Pennsylvania, H. A. Wise, of 
Virginia, Montgomery Blair, of Missouri, Tlmrman, 
of Ohio. Permanent president, John W. Davis, of 
Indiana. 



8 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

Pierce received his first votes on the 35th ballot, 
Virginia voting solid for him. On the 36th Maine 
added 8, New Hampshire 5, and Tennessee 2. On 
the 37th Tennessee's 2 left him and voted for Cass, 
while 1 Massachusetts was added to Pierce, making 
it 29. It stood at this to the 46th ballot, when 
Maryland gave him 3 and Kentucky 12, making 
his total 44. On the 47th 3 more Massachusetts 
votes were cast for him and 2 more Maryland votes, 
carrying it up to 49. On the 48th Rhode Island 
voted 4 for him, and on the 49th Pierce received 
every vote except 1 blank in Ohio, 2 for Cass in 
Ohio, 2 for Douglas in Ohio, and 1 for Butler in 
Ohio. Balloting commenced Thursday, June 3, 
and concluded on Monday, June 7. 



j3 q 

J3 ^ k^* is *^ w* • 

1 116 93 20 27 16 99 87 51 26 . 

2 118 95 23 27 17 99 87 50 26 . 

3 119 94 21 26 18 96 85 56 25 . 

4 115 89 31 25 19 89 85 63 26 . 

5 114 88 34 26 20 81 92 64 26 . 

6 114 88 34 26 21 60 102 64 26 . 

7 113 88 34 26 22 43 104 77 26 . 

8 113 88 34 26 23 37 103 78 26 . 

9 112 87 39 27 24 33 103 80 26 . 

10 Ill 86 40 27 25 34 101 79 26 . 

11 101 87 50 27 26 33 101 80 26 . 

12 98 88 51 27 27 32 98 85 26 . 

13 98 88 51 26 28 28 96 88 26 . 

14 99 87 51 26 29 27 93 91 26 . 

15 99 87 51 26 30 33 91 92 26 . 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



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For Vice-President there were ten nominations, 
William K. King, of Alabama, leading uith 126 
votes on 1st ballot, and he was nominated on 2d 
ballot, there being 270 votes cast for him. Eleven 
votes were cast for Jefferson Davis by the State of 
Illinois. 

Free Soilers' Convention, met at Pittsburgh, 
August ]1, 1852. — Judge Spaulding, ofOliio, tem- 
porary chairman. Fred. Douglas, Secretary. 
Among the delegates were Joshua Giddings ai.d 
Gerritt Smith. Hon. Henry Wilson, of Massachu- 
setts, permanent chairman. 

John P. Hale was nominated on 1st ballot, re- 
ceiving 192 votes. 

Geo. W. Julian, of Indiana, nominated for Vice- 
President by acclamation. 

Democratic Party, met at Cincinnati, June 2, 
1856, and called to order by Hon. R. iMcLoan, of 
Maryland. Hon. Samuel Medairy, ot^ Ohio, tcin- 



10 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

porary chairman, Mr. English, of Indiana, reading 
the call for the convention. All the States in the 
Union represented by delegates. General John E. 
Ward, of Georgia, President. Convention did not 
commence balloting until the afternoon of the 
fourth day of the session. On twelve ballots 
Buchanan had 135, 139, 141, 140, 155, 143, 147, 
146, 150, 147, 148 ; Pierce, 112, 119, 119, 119, 119, 
107, 89, 87, 87, 80, 79; Douglas, 33, 31, 32, 30, 
31, 28, 53, 56, 56, 59, 63, 63. Adjourned until 
next day, when balloting was resumed. On the 
13th Buchanan had 130, on the 14th 152, 15th 
168, 16th 168, and on 17th w%as nominated by 
296, and which was made unanimous by the con- 
vention. Pierce received on the loth 77, 14th 
79, 15th 3 ; Douglas, 13th 63, 14th 63, 15th 118, 
16th 121. Cass received from 4 to 7 votes on 
every ballot from the 1st to 16th. 

On the 1st ballot for Vice-President Breckin- 
ridge, of Kentucky, received 55 votes, Quitman 
leading with 65; on 2d ballot the vote was unani- 
mous for Breckinridge, of Kentucky, and he was 
declared nominated. 

Democratic party, met at Charleston, April 23, 
1860, and called to order by Judge Smalley, of 
South Carolina. Hon. Caleb Gushing, permanent 
President. Among the delegates were Butlei', of 
Massachusetts; Payne, of Ohio ; Reverdy Johnson, 
of Maryland, and Bayard, of Delaware. 

On May 21, the delegations from Alabama, Lou- 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. H 

isiana, South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Florida 
and Mississippi witiidrew from the convention. 
On tiie next day Georgia withdrew, and that after- 
noon tlie first ballot was reached. For Picsident, 
Douglas received 145^ votes, receiving the solid 
vote of New York, Ohio, Oregon, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. Guth- 
rie had oG^, Dickinson 7, Lane G, Hunt 42, John- 
son 12, Davis 1, Pierce 1, Toucey 2L Tiie Doug- 
las vote changed very little on the twelve ballots 
taken that day, having 150^ on the 12th. There 
was but very little change in any of the ballots, 
and practically the 12th w^as the same as the 1st. 

The seceding delegations met same evening, 
calling Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, to the chair, but 
on account of physical disability Hon. J. C. Pres- 
ton became chairman. 

On Wednesday 43 more ballots were taken, 
with practically no change, Douglas on the 55th 
having 15H, just one more vote than on the 12th. 
Guthrie on the 55th had 65^, Hunter 20^ and the 
rest scattering. On Thursday no additional bal- 
lots w^ere taken, and the convention finally ad- 
journed to meet in Baltimore on June 18. 

The seceding delegates convened same day, with 
Senator Bayard, of Delaware, in the chair, and 
finally a resolution was carried for a Southern 
Convention to be held in Richmond the second 
Monday in June. 

Seceders' Convention called to order by Senator 



12 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

Lubrick. All the seceding States were represented 
but Delaware. John Irwin, of Alabama, perma- 
nent chairman. Convention adjourned next day 
to await result of Baltimore Convention. 

Baltimore Convention, June 18, 1860. — Hon. 
Caleb Cushing, permanent chairman. On the 
fourth day several of the seceding delegations were 
readmitted, when there was another secession 
movement culminating in the withdrawal of Vir- 
ginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 
On Saturday afternoon balloting was reached, with 
22 States in the convention, as follows: Vermont, 
Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texa'^, Arkansas, 
Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Minnesota, Cali- 
fornia, and Oregon, casting 105 votes, all of which 
were for John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, who 
was thus unanimously nominated. Jos. Lane, of 
Oregon, was nominated for Vice-President on first 
ballot, receiving 105 votes. 

The seceding delegates held convention in Balti- 
more on the same date, and proceeded to ballot, 
with the following result on the first vote : Douglas 
173i, Guthrie 9, Breckinridge 5, and 1 for Sey- 
mour, and 1 for Bocock ; twenty-five States voting, 
as follows : Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Ar- 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 13 

kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minne- 
sota. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, of Ahibama, was 
nominated for Vice-President by unanimous vote 
on first ballot. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Chicago, August 29, 1864, and was called to 
order by August Belmont; Horatio Seymour, per- 
manent president. Following States represented : 
Massachusetts, Rhode Ishind, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, California, Oregon, Maine, 
Delaware and Maryland. McClellan was nouu- 
nated on first ballot, by a vote of 202 i to 23 i for 
Seymour. Of the latter votes Delaware cast 3, 
Maryland 7, Ohio 6, Indiana 3i, Missouri 4. For 
Vice-President, on first ballot Guthrie received 6oi, 
Pendleton 54^, Voorhees 13, Cass 26, Dodge 9, Car- 
ter 16, Powell 32^, and Phillips 8. On second 
ballot New York changed from Guthrie, and threw 
its whole vote to Pendleton. Other candidates 
were withdrawn, and Pendleton unanimously 
elected. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
New York, July 4, 1868, and was called to order 
by August Belmont, Hon. Henry S. Palmer, of 
Wisconsin, temporary chairman. Horatio Seymour, 
of New York, permanent president. First ballot, 
Pendleton 105, Hancock 33^, Johnson 65, English 



14 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

16, Hendricks 2 i^, Re verdy Johnson 8^,Doolittle 13, 
Piirker 13, Packer 36, Church 23. Whole number 
cast 313, iiecesscary to a choice 212. On the second 
ballot Texas changed from Johnson to Hancock, 
Virginia gave F. P. Blair 10. On third ballot 
Virginia went to Pendleton with 10 votes. On 
fourth ballot remained about the same. On fifth 
Florida left Hancock and went to Doolittle, Michi- 
gan changed from Reverdy Johnson to Hendricks, 
North Carolina split her vote and gave Hancock 
majority of it, Georgia added 9 to Blair, and Ar- 
kansas 3 to Pendleton, Indiana went to Pendleton, 
increasing his vote to 122. On sixth ballot very 
little change. Adjourned to next day. On seventh 
ballot Pendleton gained 15. Eighth ballot New 
York cast 33 votes for Hendricks, and Louisiana 
went from Hancock to Pendleton, Mississippi voted 
solid for Pendleton, increasing his vote to 156i to 
75 for Hendricks, others scattering. On the ninth 
ballot Pendleton dropped off to 144, and Hendricks 
went up to 80^. Tenth ballot Hendricks gained 
2, Pendleton 3. Eleventh ballot Pendleton lost 3, 
and Hendricks crained 5. Twelfth ballot about the 
same. Thirteenth ballot but little chansre. Four- 
teenth ballot Nebraska went from Pendleton to 
Hendricks, Tennessee dropped Johnson, and divided 
his vote between Pendleton and Hendricks, Penn- 
sylvania cast 26 for Hancock, carrying his vote to 
56. Fifteenth ballot Pendleton 129 K Hancock 
79^, Hendricks 82i. Sixteenth ballot Arkansas 



THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 15 

changed from Pendleton to Hancock, Georgia ditto, 
Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri gave him 2 
additional votes, Maryland gave him 5i of lier 7. 
At the close of the ballot Hancock led wilh 113^ 
Pendleton 107?, Hendricks 70L others scntterin"". 
On seventeenth ballot Alabama changed to Han- 
cock, Arkansas, Connecticut and other States cent- 
ring on him; result as announced, Hancock 137^, 
Pendleton 70^, Hendricks 80. On eighteenth bal- 
lot Illinois cast her solid vote for Hendricks, and 
on the result put Hancock in the lead Avith 114i, 
and Pendleton third man. Adjourned until next 
day. Nineteenth ballot Connecticut returned to 
English and Delaware went to Hancock, Tennessee 
cast her entire vote for Hancock, Pennsylvania cast 
26 for him ; result, Hancock had lost 9 votes on 
last vote of previous day and Hendricks had gained. 
On twentieth ballot Pendleton having withdrawn, 
Hancock Avent up again to 142^, and Hendricks 
121. On the twenty-first Hancock was still in the 
lead, with, however, but 3^ votes ahead of Hen- 
dricks. On twenty-second ballot Ohio nominated 
Seymour, giving him her solid vote. Seymour 
declined. On the twenty-third ballot Hendricks 
went to the front with 145^, Hancock 123^ Sey- 
mour 45. Before result was announced State after 
State changed from Hendricks and Hancock, and 
thence to Seymour, and he received the unanimous 
vote of the convention, 317 votes, and was declared 
nominated. The highest vote received by Pendle- 



16 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 

ton during the contest was 156 i, the highest for 
Hendricks 145, Hancock 144 i. 

Francis P. Bhiir, of Missouri, nominated for 
Vice-President by unanimous vote of the conven- 
tion. 

The Liberal Republican Convention met at 
Cincinnati, May 1, 1872. Col. Grosvenor, of St. 
Louis, called the convention to order ; Judge 
Stanley Matthews, of Ohio, temporary chairman. 
Permanent president, Carl Schurz. First ballot, 
Adams 203, Trumbull 108, Davis 92^, Greeley 147, 
Brown 98, Curtin 62, Chase 2i, Sumner 1. Second 
ballot, Greeley 245, Adams 243, Trumbull 148, 
Davis 81, balance scattering; whole vote 714, nec- 
essary to choice 358. On third ballot Greeley 
gained 13, Trumbull 8, Adams went to head with 
264. Fourth ballot with little change. Fifth 
ballot Adams had reached 309, Greeley remaining 
same as on third. Sixth ballot Adams went to 
324, and Greeley to 332 ; before vote was an- 
nounced McClure changed Pennsylvania from 
Adams to 50 for Greeley, and other States followed 
suit, and Greeley was nominated. 

Gratz Brown, of Missouri, was nominated on 
first ballot by vote of 435 to 175 for Julian, 75 for 
Walker, 36 for Tipton, and 8 for Palmer. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Baltimore, July 9, 1872, and was called to order 
by August Belmont. Thomas Jefferson Randolph, 
temporary chairman ; Senator Doolittle, permanent 



THE DEMOCRATIC J'AFiTV. 17 

chairman. Nominations of Greeley and IJrowe 
indorsed. 

The National Democratic Convention met at St. 
Louis, June 27, 1876, and was called to order by 
August Schell, of New York ; Henry Watterson, 
of Kentucky, temporary chairman; Gen. John A. 
McClernand, of Illinois, permanent president. 40U 
votes necessary to a choice, under two-thirds rule. 
First ballot, Tilden403^, Hendricks 133i. Hancock 
75, Allen 56, Bayard 27, Parker 18. On seconci 
ballot Tilden had 535, Hendricks 60, Allen 54, 
Hancock 59, Thurman 22, Bayard 11, and Parker 
18. Before ballot was announced Missouri changed 
her vote to 16 for Tilden and 14 for Hendricks, 
Iowa changed her vote from Hancock to Tilden, and 
Illinois to 24 for Tilden and 18 for Hendricks, 
North Carolina changed to 19 for Tilden and 1 
for Hancock. Tilden's nomination made unani- 
mous. 

Adjourned, and on the next day Hendricks was 
nominated on first ballot by all the votes in the 
convention, 738, to 8 blank. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Cincinnati, June 22, 1880, and was called to order 
by Senator Barnum, of Connecticut; Hon. George 
Hoadley, of Ohio, temporary chairman ; J. W. 
Stevenson, of Kentucky, permanent president. 
First ballot, Hancock 171, Bayard 153^, Field 65, 
Morrison 64, Hendricks 50i, Thurman 68i, Payne 
81, Tilden 37. Adjourned until next day. Whole 



18 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. 

number of delegates 738, necessary to choice 654. 
Second ballot Hancock 320, Bayard 113, Field 165i, 
Hendricks 31, Thiirman 50, Tilden G, Eandall 125^, 
English 19 ; but before result was announced State 
after State changed its vote, and the ballot as 
finally announced was Hancock 705, Bayard 2, 
Hendricks 30. 

W. II. English, of Indiana, nominated for Vice- 
President by tacclarnation. 

The National Democratic Convention met at 
Cliicago, July 8, 1884, and v/as called to order by 
Chairman Barnum, of the National Democratic 
Committee. Hon. Richard B. Hubbard, of Texas, 
temporary chairman ; Col. W. H. Vilas, of Vv'iscon- 
sin, permanent President. Whole number cf Dele- 
gates 820; necessary to a choice 517, under the 
two-tliirds rule. 

First ballot, Cleveland 392; Bayard 170; Thur- 
man 88; Bandall 78; McDonald 50 ; Carlisle 27; 
lloadly 3 ; Tilden 1 ; Flower 4 ; Hendricks 1. 
Second ballot, Cleveland G83 ; Bayard 81^; Hen- 
dricks, 45^ ; Randall 4,' Thurman 4 ; McDonald 2. 

The Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana^ was 
nominated for Vice-President by the unanimous 
vote of the Convention. 

In the National Democratic Convention at St. 
Louis, June 5, 1888, President Cleveland was 
unanimously nominated on the first ballot. Allen 
G. Thurman received 690 votes to 105 for Gray, 
and 25 for Black. 



lhJ^'33 



I 



